Baltimore City Health Comisisoner Dr. Leana Wen today delivered the address at the 2016 Commencement of Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) at the Royal Farms Arena. NDMU President Marylou Yam presided over the ceremony.

Dr. Wen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the ceremony. As an emergency physician, and patient and community advocate, Dr. Wen’s goal as City Health Commissioner is to promote health and improve well-being through education, policy/advocacy, and direct service delivery. The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) is the oldest health department in the United States and its responsibilities include maternal and child health, youth wellness, school health, senior services, animal control, restaurant inspections, emergency preparedness, STI/HIV treatment, and acute and chronic disease prevention.

“I feel grateful to celebrate the graduation with so many people who have at their very core the mission of service and social responsibility, who will serve our communities, be champions for our common humanity, and tackle our society’s greatest injustices,” said Dr. Wen. “There is something each of us can do because we are all faced with the power of choice. We can tolerate the rhetoric that we hear or we can choose to call it as it is: that disparities bend the arc of humankind away from justice."

These are issues Dr. Wen has extensive knowledge of, and has researched first-hand. Prior to joining the BCHD, she was an attending physician and Director of Patient-Centered Care in the Department of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University (GWU). In addition, she was a professor of Emergency Medicine, and co-directed GWU’s Residency Fellowship in Health Policy.

Dr. Wen has traveled the world researching other health systems, including those in Rwanda, Nigeria, China, and Denmark. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed book, When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests; she has been published in more than 100 articles, including The Lancet, JAMA, and Health Affairs.

For more on commencement and Dr. Wen’s address, visit ndm.edu/commencement.