Recent News

Opioid Reversals Remain Underreported, say Public Health Experts (WYPR)

Karen Holliday says she has something in common with Billie Holiday, Baltimore’s famous jazz singer who died in July 1959 from illness related to drug and alcohol abuse, beside the last name.

“Drugs have always been in this family of mine,” says Holliday. “I was the person who slept right there in the park across the street from the War Memorial. I was also a person that used there.”

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Note From The Commissioner: Congressional Black Caucus Panel

Congressional Black Caucus

At last week’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings invited me to serve as the moderator for his panel on opioids and communities of color. I was honored to host a discussion that featured statements from Congressman Cummings and Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with Mr. Cyril Scovens from Mi Casa Es Su Casa, Dr. Barbara DiPietro from Health Care for the Homeless, Dr. Aliya Jones from Bon Secours Hospital, and Dr. Scott Nolen from Open Society Institute – Baltimore.

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Baltimore City Health Commissioner and Director of Department of General Services Host Naloxone Training for City Employees

BALTIMORE, MD (September 18, 2018) —Today, Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen joined Baltimore City Department of General Services (DGS) Director Steve Sharkey to host a naloxone training for Baltimore City Employees at the War Memorial Building. 

Note From The Commissioner: My New Role

Nearly four years ago, I was given the profound honor and privilege of serving as the Baltimore City Health Commissioner. Every day since then, under the leadership of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and then Mayor Catherine Pugh, I’ve served alongside the most dedicated public servants I’ve ever known, joined in a common mission to combat disparities and improve health and well-being in Baltimore. I have often said that I have my dream job. It has been a dream come true to work with all of you. Together, we have accomplished so much: we’ve saved nearly 3,000 lives from opioid overdose; reduced infant mortality to record lows; provided glasses for all children who need them; treated violence and racism as public health crises; and convened all sectors to improve community well-being.

Leana Wen

Statement from Baltimore City Health Commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen:

BALTIMORE, MD (September 12, 2018) – Nearly four years ago, I was given the profound honor and privilege of serving as the Baltimore City Health Commissioner. Every day since then, I’ve served with the most dedicated public servants I’ve ever known, joined in a common mission to combat disparities and improve health and well-being in Baltimore. 

Leana Wen

Congress is on the verge of a bipartisan opioid package. But experts have big concerns. (Vox)

The Senate this week is expected to vote on a legislative package that will take an array of actions to curb the opioid epidemic, the deadliest drug overdose crisis in US history.

If you hear senators describe it, the legislation, dubbed the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, is a big breakthrough that will boost access to addiction treatment and many other interventions to mitigate the opioid epidemic, from law enforcement efforts against illicit drugs to combating the overprescription of opioids. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who oversees the Senate health committee, noted that the legislation “represents the work of over 70 senators, five committees, and countless staff who have worked together to help put an end to the opioid epidemic ravaging virtually every American community.” 

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We must provide sustained funding proportional to the severity of the opioid epidemic (The Hill)

In her op-ed, Dr. Leana Wen explores three obstacles stopping the full realization of Baltimore's three-pillar strategy to combat the opioid epidemic, and preventing the end of it in Baltimore — and nationwide.

The opioid crisis is the deadliest epidemic in U.S. history. In 2017, nearly 50,000 individuals across the U.S. died from an overdose involving opioids. In my city of Baltimore, 761 people died. Those are mothers not coming home for dinner. Students not graduating from college. And grandparents missing birthdays. They are the human cost of overdose deaths. Yet, disturbingly, we have not reached the peak of this public health emergency. A new study tells an apocalyptic story — 510,000 dead in the U.S. from an opioid overdose in the next decade.

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The Home Base of Health (U.S. News & World Report)

Substandard housing conditions have been linked to higher rates of infectious disease, chronic illnesses and injuries, but millions of low-income Americans have little choice about where they live.

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Breastfeeding: get over it (The Daily Campus)

There has been a long standing stigma surrounding the topic of breastfeeding in public. People, most often men, have found this to be too tantalizing, sexual and overall distracting for them to go about their daily lives. Breastfeeding is a natural occurrence. It is a mother feeding her baby breakfast, lunch or dinner. Most people wouldn’t respond well if they were approached when eating and told that the way they were eating was too sexual or distracting and that they should eat somewhere “more private.” This is just a fraction of the nonsense people put breastfeeding mothers through.

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Leana Wen

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