Note From The Commissioner:
Dear BCHD Community Partner,
This week, Baltimore City announced that we will be joining a lawsuit against
President Trump, challenging his Administration’s cut in federal funding for evidence-based
reproductive health education programs.
In July 2017, the Health Department received notice from the U.S.
Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Adolescent Health that the grant
period for Baltimore City’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program would be
terminated two years early. This amounts to a reduction in overall funding from
$8.6 million to $5.1 million – a cut of $3.5 million.
This funding cut will result in reduced access to evidence-based teen
pregnancy curricula for 20,000 students in Baltimore, creating a vacuum in
critical health education for thousands of vulnerable teens. It eliminates the
capacity to train teachers in evidence-based reproductive health education and
jeopardizes our Youth Advisory Council—Baltimore City teens who act as peer
health advocates.
To us, the funding cut is shocking and
unprecedented. Congress approved the funding, and the grant period was supposed to
be five years. It is extremely unusual for a grant to be terminated without
justification, especially when the funds are available. The funding cut occurs
at a time when we have seen tremendous reduction in the teen birth rate—61%—since
2000.
As a doctor and public health official, I have seen how much this grant
has helped us in Baltimore. Numerous studies show us that reducing teen births
increases the ability of girls to graduate from high school and to have economic
stability for themselves and their families. We cannot afford to roll back the
gains that have been made, and hurt generations to come.
Yesterday was International Women’s Day. Let us do everything we can to
fight for the futures of our girls, women, and families.
Thank you for your partnership.
Leana Wen, M.D., M.Sc.
Health
Department Joins Lawsuit Against President Trump
The Health Department will join a lawsuit against the Trump
Administration challenging a cut in federal funding for its Teen Pregnancy
Prevention Program. Since 2015, the Health Department has been using a federal
grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of
Adolescent Health to teach birth control, and other measures to prevent teen
pregnancy, to middle and high school students. Baltimore City Solicitor Andre
Davis said the City is joining the lawsuit to force the federal government to
restore the $3.5 million the City stands to lose.
“This cut to us is shocking and unprecedented, because it’s extremely
unusual a grant is terminated without justification when the funds are
available. Congress has approved the funds to be there,” said Baltimore City
Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen.
Click here to read full coverage in The Baltimore Sun, WBAL-TV, and the Baltimore Business Journal.
Baltimore
Times: Dr. Wen Shares Her Personal Story in Women’s History Month
Profile
Last Friday, Dr. Wen was the first leader profiled in the Baltimore
Times’ Women’s History Month Tribute. Dr. Wen discussed her humble
beginnings as an immigrant in the United States, her responsibility as the City’s
top doctor, and her commitment to supporting women’s equality.
“We think about health as health care,” said Dr. Wen. “But what
determines how long and how well [we] live, is less about what happens in your
doctor’s office and more about where one lives, the air we breathe, and other
resources in our communities.”
Click here to read the
full article.
WEAA 88.9FM: Dr. Wen
Discusses Health Department’s Efforts for a Healthier Baltimore
Dr. Wen recently joined WEAA 88.9 FM to discuss the Health
Department’s legislative efforts in Annapolis, as well as its programs to
support heart health, save lives amidst an opioid epidemic, and offer
healthier drink options for our city's children.
“The science is clear: one of the biggest contributors to childhood
obesity is sugary drinks, and childhood obesity is a major risk factor for
diabetes, heart disease, and early death,” said Dr. Wen. “Taking out empty
calories from sugary drinks is a powerful lifestyle change we can make to help
our children to get and stay healthy. This bill would help families make the
healthy choice the easy choice.”
Listen to the interview here.
Dr. Wen Addresses the Wednesday Club
Earlier this
week, Dr. Wen spoke before the Wednesday Club about the Health Department’s
three-pillar strategy for combatting the opioid epidemic: saving lives with
naloxone, increasing access to treatment, and fighting stigma with science. She
emphasized that treating addiction as a crime is inhumane and unscientific, and
that it must be treated like the disease that it is.
Click here to learn more about the Health
Department’s opioid overdose prevention and treatment work.
Dr. Wen Moderates Panel at Osler Medical
Symposium
Last Friday,
Dr. Wen gave remarks at the first annual Osler Medical Symposium at Johns
Hopkins University. She also moderated a discussion with two former Baltimore
City Health Commissioners – Drs. Peter Beilenson and Joshua Sharfstein – and
former Baltimore County Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Gourdine. In her
remarks, Dr. Wen provided an overview of the state of health in Baltimore City,
detailing the Health Department’s work around opioid overdose prevention and
treatment, food access, vision care, and other efforts to address health
disparities in the City. The participants discussed topics ranging from the
history of health insurance in the United States, to prescription drug pricing
and racial disparities in health.
“If the
currency of inequality is years of life, then the opposite of poverty is
health,” Dr. Wen said.
Click here to watch video of the Symposium.
Senior Medical Advisor Testifies in Favor of
Establishing a Drug Cost Review Commission
On Tuesday,
Senior Medical Advisor Dr. Shelly Choo testified, on Dr. Wen’s behalf, before the
House Health & Government Operations Committee in support of establishing a
Drug Cost Review Commission (HB1194). The bill would address rising drug costs by
establishing a commission responsible for setting fair rates for high cost
drugs in Maryland.
“Escalating
drug prices are literally a life and death issue for our patients and our
residents. House Bill 1194 is common sense,” said Dr. Choo. “It builds off the
hard work on the prescription drug price gouging bill passed last year.
Physicians, patients, and family members have a right to know why our medications
are priced the way they are.”
Click here to
read HB1194.
Preventing Substance-Exposed Pregnancies Program
Manager Testifies for Improved Access to Pregnancy Information for Incarcerated
Women
On Wednesday, the
Health Department’s Preventing Substance-Exposed Pregnancies Program Manager
Jennifer Kirschner testified in front of the Senate Judicial Proceedings
Committee in favor of a bill that would require correctional facilities to
develop and provide written policies on access to pregnancy and postpartum care
to pregnant female inmates.
“Just like any of us with medical concerns, inmates and
detainees need clear, written information regarding available health care
services and the specific policies that apply to them,” Ms. Kirschner said. “Approximately 90 pregnant women were
housed in the Baltimore City Women’s Detention Center each year; that’s enough to
fill four kindergarten classrooms. And every year, a couple of those women had
to give birth in either their cell or the infirmary, which do not have the
life-saving equipment found in a modern labor and delivery unit.”
Health Department Meets with Students from
National Defense University
Last week, the
Health Department hosted graduate students from the National Defense
University. Dr. Wen, Senior Medical Advisor Dr. Shelly Choo, Deputy
Commissioner of Population Health and Disease Prevention Jennifer Martin,
Assistant Commissioner for HIV/STD Services Dr. Patrick Chaulk, Medical
Emergency Planner Sako Narita, and Director of Acute Communicable Diseases Mary
Grace White spoke with the students. They discussed the Health Department’s
opioid overdose prevention and treatment strategy, infectious disease response
strategy, and ways in which the federal government can assist in the Health
Department’s work.
To learn more
about the Health Department’s programs, click here.
Special
Advisor for Opioid Policy Participates in National Institutes of Health Meeting
Evan Behrle,
Special Advisor for Opioid Policy, represented Dr. Wen at a two-day meeting
convened by Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) and Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The meeting brought together leading researchers in social science and medicine
to discuss how the NIH can support the research community in addressing the
opioid epidemic. Evan served as a respondent, working to connect the research
discussed with concrete challenges faced by organizations like BCHD that are
fighting on the front lines of the opioid epidemic.
Health Department Welcomes
CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Services to Baltimore City
Last week, the
Health Department's Senior Companion Program welcomed Barbara Stewart to
Baltimore City. Ms. Stewart is a recent federal appointee serving as the Chief
Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Services
(CNCS), an agency operating under the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Their mission is to strengthen communities and foster civic
engagement. The Health Department extends a big thank you to our committed
Senior Companion staff, clients, volunteers and advisory board members who
helped organize the visit. The Health Department is very appreciative of
CNCS's continual support and partnership in cultivating Baltimore City's
volunteer programs.
Click here to learn more about the Senior Companion program.
Health Department Recruiting for Baltimore Corps
Fellows
 Applications
for the Baltimore Corps Fellowship are now available. The Health Department is
looking for new Fellows to join us starting in September, 2018. Baltimore Corps
places participants in city government agencies, foundations, and non-profit
and community organizations throughout Baltimore for a yearlong Fellowship.
Baltimore Corps also supports each Fellow through professional development
trainings, individual mentorship, and periodic retreats and seminars. If you
know a recent graduate or young professional interested in joining us at the
Health Department, please send them the application link below.
If you have
any questions about the Baltimore Corps Fellowship, please contact Chief Policy
and Engagement Officer Gabe Auteri at gabriel.auteri@baltimorecity.gov.
Click here for a link to the application.
BCHD in the News
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