Recent News

Testimony in Favor of HB 1329 Heroin and Opioid Prevention Effort (HOPE) and Treatment Act of 2017

Mar 8th, 2017

Following is testimony given by Mark O’Brien, Director of Opioid Overdose Prevention and Treatment. The statement was presented to the Health and Government Operations Committee on behalf of Dr. Wen on March 7, 2017.

Baltimore City Announces 1000th Pair of Free Glasses Delivered to Students through Vision for Baltimore

Mar 8th, 2017

BALTIMORE, MD (March 8, 2017) – Baltimore City officials marked a major milestone today as the 1,000th pair of glasses was delivered through the Vision for Baltimore program.

Overhaul of health law faces criticism from both sides in Maryland (Baltimore Sun)

Mar 8th, 2017

Health care advocates and Democratic lawmakers in Maryland called a newly released GOP plan to replace the Affordable Care Act a threat to coverage for more than 400,000 state residents, while top Republicans, including Gov. Larry Hogan, argued that the law must be changed to preserve access to health insurance.

"The governor doesn't want to see anyone losing health care," said Doug Mayer, Hogan's chief spokesman. "But he wants a system that works."

But even Mayer characterized the plan congressional Republicans released Monday evening as "just a first draft" for replacing the health law known as Obamacare.

Even as Democrats attacked the plan Tuesday for threatening coverage and increasing costs, it was rejected by Republican deficit hawks, panned by party moderates and given only lukewarm support from President Donald Trump. Conservative lawmakers and outside groups, bristling at the creation of a government entitlement, dubbed the bill "Obamacare 2.0" or "Obamacare lite."

Read entire story. 

Baltimore City Health Commissioner Expresses Grave Concern about Plan to Replace the Affordable Care Act

Mar 7th, 2017

BALTIMORE, MD (March 7, 2017) – Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen today issued the following statement in response to a bill that aims to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Addiction is a disease, and treatment works (Baltimore Sun Op-ed)

Mar 7th, 2017

Regarding the March 3,　"If addiction is a disease, why haven't we cured it?":

BCHD to Kick Butts on March 30th

Mar 6th, 2017

On March 30, 2017, the Baltimore City Health Department’s (BCHD) Tobacco Free Baltimore Program (TFB) will partner with the Mount Royal Elementary School to host Kick Butts Day (KBD), a local initiative of the national event, which is held every March. Kick Butts Day empowers youth to raise awareness about tobacco use and reject the influence of tobacco advertising. In Baltimore, the event is in its second year.

DR. LEANA WEN: REMOVE RED TAPE TO SAVE LIVES (Center Maryland Op-ed)

Mar 6th, 2017

The opioid epidemic continues to ravage Maryland, killing more residents every year than traffic accidents. We are in the midst of a public health emergency.

Across the state, nearly 1500 people lost their lives to drug or alcohol overdose in the first nine months of 2016. The powerful opioid known as fentanyl is driving these high rates; in Baltimore City, fatal overdoses involving the drug have increased 20 times in the least three years.

These deaths are especially tragic because there is one medication — naloxone — that is a complete antidote to an opioid overdose. As an emergency physician, I have used the medication hundreds of times and have seen firsthand that it can bring someone on the verge of death back to life in seconds. Naloxone is safe, with virtually no side effects if given to someone who is not on opioids. It is easy to administer, with two versions, one that’s a nasal spray and one that’s given like an Epi-Pen.

Naloxone gives everyone the power to save a life. And in Baltimore, it has.

Read the entire story.

TECHealth is how city government and technologists should work together (Technical.ly Baltimore)

Mar 3rd, 2017

The Baltimore City Health Department backed seven tech projects to help the city. Take note, city agencies.

With a food computer glowing toward the front of the room at the University of Maryland BioPark, a mix of officials and technologists described the projects in the Baltimore health department’s TECHealth program on Thursday night.

They involve work on some of the city’s toughest challenges, like heroin overdoses. In Code in the Schools’ Bad Batch Alert, students are helping to build a warning system for heroin that is laced with fentanyl.

The technology itself is also pretty involved. Chris Meenan of the University of Maryland’s I3 Center for Healthcare Innovation is working on a database that can help review suspicious deaths of children. Delali Dzirasa and Fearless are working on a dashboard to analyze health department data.

But in remarks, Meenan and Dzirasa pointed out that the collaboration started with something as basic as an email.

We’ve heard plenty about issues with getting city government to answer, but in this case they got responses — quick ones. They separately reached out to Baltimore Health Department CIO Mike Fried at various hours of the night, and promptly received an email back.

Read entire story.

Dr. Leana Wen: Remove Red Tape to Save Lives (Daily Record)

Mar 3rd, 2017

The opioid epidemic continues to ravage Maryland, killing more residents every year than traffic accidents. We are in the midst of a public health emergency.

Baltimore City Health Department Launches New Civic Innovation Program

Mar 3rd, 2017

BALTIMORE, MD (March 2, 2017) – The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) today celebrated the inaugural cohort of Baltimore City’s TECHealth (Transforming Engineering for Civic Health) program, an innovative initiative that engages members of Baltimore’s thriving technology and design communities to address local public health challenges. 

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