With the legislative session in Annapolis underway, the Baltimore City Health Department is actively advocating for public health improvements with our legislators in Annapolis. On Monday, I joined Delegates Brooke Lierman and Robbyn Lewis to endorse legislation that will create the Maryland Violence Intervention and Prevention Program (MVIPP) Fund. The Fund will support science-based, public health approaches to prevent gun violence.

Violence is like a contagious disease, spreading from person-to-person. But like other contagions, it can be prevented and stopped. Our Safe Streets program treats violence like an illness. Last year, Safe Streets workers mediated and deescalated more than 1,000 conflicts, four out of five of which were deemed likely or very likely to result in gun violence. Three out of the program’s four sites have gone at least one year without a fatal shooting, preventing violence before it happens. I applaud our outreach workers for the work that they do every day. I am so proud to know them; it has been a great privilege to work with Safe Streets. I am also very thankful to Mayor Catherine Pugh for committing to expand this evidence-based program.

Those of us in public health know all too well that prevention programs are difficult to fund because there’s no face of prevention. But we also know that failing to address violence or chronic disease upstream leads to higher human and economic costs. The Health Department has been calling attention to preventing and treating heart disease, the number one killer of men and women in Baltimore City. Nearly 2,000 Baltimoreans die from heart disease every year. On Wednesday, I joined Mayor Pugh and representatives from the American Heart Association to proclaim February American Heart Month. I discussed the Health Department’s smoking cessation programs, noting that smoking is the number-one preventable contributor to heart disease, and highlighted the need to keep our kids healthy by increasing their fruit and vegetable intake. The Health Department is helping corner stores stock fresh fruits and vegetables, while our Virtual Supermarket program facilitates grocery deliveries to residential buildings across Baltimore. Additionally, Mayor Pugh’s support for the Billion Step Challenge has encouraged residents to pursue active lifestyles.

We continue to work to address health disparities and protect our most vulnerable throughout the city. Last weekend, I was honored to speak at an event in support of Healthcare for the Homeless, a great organization that views housing as healthcare, and whose work is grounded in addressing the social determinants of health. Homelessness, poverty, violence, trauma, stress, and physical and mental health challenges are all closely linked; having a home promotes healing and advances well-being.

Congressman Elijah Cummings often says, “The cost of doing nothing isn’t nothing.” We cannot afford to leave the root causes of gun violence, chronic disease, addiction, and other health challenges unaddressed. I am grateful to work every day with a team dedicated to meeting people where they are, and determined to pursue positive health outcomes for all of our residents

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

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