25 ways to make Baltimore better: Suggestions from Aaron Maybin, Leana Wen and more (Baltimore Sun)

Friday Apr 13th, 2018

We asked 25 notable people from the Baltimore area about ways to improve the community. Here’s what they said:

Take control of your health and help those around you

Learn to use naloxone or narcan, and carry it in your medicine cabinet and first aid kit. We are in the middle of an opioid epidemic, and in the case of an overdose, this is one medication that will save someone’s life within seconds. Everyday residents who are not medically trained — our neighbors and friends — have saved the lives over 1,600 lives. And, know your numbers. Go to your primary care doctor every year and make sure that you know your blood pressure and cholesterol. Get tested for HIV. HIV does not discriminate — one in 5 don’t know that they have it, so it's important that we all get tested. — Leana Wen, Baltimore Health Commissioner

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When I’ve asked experts about these approaches, it’s not that any of them are bad. It’s that they fall short. For instance, Leana Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore (and soon-to-be president of Planned Parenthood), said that the Support for Patients and Communities Act “is simply tinkering around the edges.”

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