Recent News

Pugh, other city officials urge comprehensive U.S. help on 'desperate' opioid issues (Baltimore Sun)

Jul 27th, 2018

With 175 Americans dying each day from drug overdoses, the opioid crisis is akin to “a plane crashing every day,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said on Friday as she and other Baltimore officials urged Congress to approve comprehensive legislation to combat the epidemic.

“We are in desperate need at this particular point in time,” Pugh said at a roundtable discussion that included .Baltimore Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, community leaders and addiction experts at the city offices of Health Care for the Homeless.

Read the entire story.

Leana Wenopioids

Congressional Roundtable on the Opioid Crisis (CSPAN)

Jul 27th, 2018

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings and Senator Elizabeth Warren hold a roundtable with congressional colleagues, Baltimore officials, and community representatives to discuss the city’s opioid crisis.

View a recording of the roundtable from CSPAN.

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Dr. Leana Wen Discusses the Opioid Crisis – CSPAN Washington Journal (CSPAN)

Jul 27th, 2018

Baltimore City Commissioner of Health Dr. Leana Wen talked about challenges facing large cities like Baltimore in dealing with the opioid epidemic. She spoke via video link from Baltimore.

Watch the segment here.

Leana Wenopioids

Pugh, other city officials urge comprehensive U.S. help on 'desperate' opioid issues (Baltimore Sun)

Jul 27th, 2018

With 175 Americans dying each day from drug overdoses, the opioid crisis is akin to “a plane crashing every day,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said on Friday as she and other Baltimore officials urged Congress to approve comprehensive legislation to combat the epidemic.

Cummings and Warren, both Democrats, sought to use the forum — nationally televised by C-SPAN — to promote legislation that would provide $100 billion over 10 years for services to combat substance use disorders. It is modeled after 1990’s Ryan White Act that provided billions of federal dollars to combat the AIDS crisis. 

“This is what we on the front lines have been asking for,” said Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, who moderated the panel.

Read the entire story.

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Fetanyl-related deaths rise as Maryland's opioid crisis rages on (Baltimore Business Journal)

Jul 26th, 2018

Maryland's deadly opioid crisis is showing no signs of abating with the latest state data highlighting a rising number of deaths due to fetanyl use.

Fentanyl-related deaths continue to rise, increasing from 1,119 in 2016 to 1,594 in 2017, according to information released Thursday on unintentional drug and alcohol-related intoxication deaths from the Maryland Department of Health. The agency's statistics include deaths in 2017 and the first three months of 2018.

Read the entire story.

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Doctors at Anne Arundel Medical Center to discuss gun safety with patients (Capital Gazette)

Jul 26th, 2018

When patients at Anne Arundel Medical Center meet with their doctors, the conversations soon will broach a new topic beyond medical history and diagnoses: gun safety.

Hospital officials — viewing gun violence as a public health epidemic — want to strip the politics out of the gun ownership debate and have frank, non-judgmental talks about the measures patients are taking to keep their firearms safe.

Read the entire story.

Leana Wen

Maryland's drug-related deaths increase for seventh straight year, reach all-time high in 2017 (Baltimore Sun)

Jul 26th, 2018

The number of drug- and alcohol-related deaths in Maryland soared to an all-time high of 2,282 last year as the state continued to struggle with an opioid addiction problem that has gripped the entire country.

“This is an escalating epidemic,” said Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana S. Wen. “But still we don’t even see the peak of this epidemic yet.”

Read the entire story.

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Baltimore Just Became the First City to Ban Soda From Kids’ Menus (Red Tricycle)

Jul 26th, 2018

With rising childhood obesity rates a growing concern in the United States, one city has taken a big step towards reducing kids’ sugar intake. Baltimore has just become the first major city in the country to have soda banned from kids’ menus.

Read the entire story.

Leana Wen

City bans popular item from kids’ menus (kidspot.com)

Jul 25th, 2018

A major US city has made it illegal for cafes and restaurants to include sugary drinks on children's menus. 

The city – in the state of Maryland which has a population of more than six million – has prohibited restaurants offering kids soft drinks, instead making the default kids' menu options water, milk and 100 percent fruit juices.

Read the entire story.

Leana Wen

Democrats, health leaders protest potential loss of women’s health service funds (The Daily Record)

Jul 24th, 2018

Maryland’s congressional delegation and Baltimore City officials denounced Monday a proposed federal rule that they say could restrict access to women’s healt

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