At BCHD, we are very proud of our extensive track record of pushing the envelope of public health through innovation and engagement with communities across Baltimore. At a time when governments are faced with increasingly limited resources, it is commonsense that we work togetherto solve our shared challenges. We have long known the power of public-private partnerships to improve health outcomes.

On Monday, I joined Mayor Catherine E. Pugh to announce a grant to support the B'more Fit for Healthy Babies program, which will help hundreds of postpartum women obtain fitness and nutrition services. I even participated in a zumba exercise session with other B’more Fit program participants! This newest contribution is in addition to years of support from numerous partners across the city, including CareFirst, whose early and unwavering investment in the initiative has made and continues to make B’More for Healthy Babies possible.

On Wednesday, the Health Department hosted the inaugural Baltimore in Action discussion, a day-long workshop to observe the triumphs, challenges, and barriers identified from Baltimore in Conversation, a year-long social listening exercise within Baltimore’s LGBTQ community. In our city, 13,000 people live with HIV/AIDS, and African-Americans are disproportionately affected by the virus. Improving access to treatment and prevention services is a matter social justice to eliminate this health disparity. By implementing innovative programs, such as the Needle Exchange Program, we have been able to make significant improvements in people’s daily lives and reduce the spread of disease. 

On Thursday, we were excited to formally launch the new civic innovation program, TECHealth (Transforming Engineering for Civic Health), which builds a bridge from city government to the tech and design community so that we can work together to improve health. The TECHealth teams have been looking for innovative ways to address some of our city’s most pressing public health challenges, such as food insecurity and the overdose epidemic. As a result of this collaboration, we expect to find new ways to serve our residents.

We are very grateful for all of the partnerships from all sectors across the city. By working together, our programs become stronger and have more resources to make our city healthier. 

Sincerely,

Leana Wen, M.D., M.Sc.