Note From The Commissioner:
Dear Community Partner,
As an emergency
physician, I have treated older adults who arrive in the ER with horrific signs
of physical abuse, including injuries that led to disability or death. I have
also seen our elders who are mentally, emotionally, and sexually abused, and who are targets of financial crimes and
exploitation.
The statistics
of elder abuse are shocking: one in 10 Americans aged 60 or older have
experienced some form of abuse, and as many as five million older adults are
abused every year. Unfortunately, only one in 14 cases are reported to the
appropriate authorities. Another disturbing fact: 60% of perpetrators of abuse
are family members of the victims. Elder abuse is happening right in our homes
and communities every day.
June 15, 2018
was World Elder Abuse Day. The Baltimore City Health Department and the
Baltimore City Department of Social Services (DSS) developed a Senior Resource
Fair at the Jenkins Senior Living Pavilion. The Health Department’s Division of
Aging and CARE Services team, led by Deputy Commissioner Heang Tan, discussed
the Senior Companion Program and provided information about how all of us must
work together to prevent the abuse of older adults. I want to thank Heang and
her team, as well as DSS Director Stacy Rodgers, for their collaborative
efforts—under Mayor Pugh’s leadership—to advance health and safety for our
older adults.
Our World Elder
Abuse Day event also highlighted the Health Department’s continued
collaboration with the Baltimore Police Department, the State’s Attorney’s
Office, non-profit partners, and physicians across the City. We must recognize
that we all have a role to play in responding to elder abuse – it’s a community
problem, a public health concern, and a criminal matter. Everyone can help. We
can look for warning signs, including signs of physical injury, as well as
signs of withdrawal, isolation, or nervousness among our elders. We should
report instances or suspected instances of abuse: All of us should speak up,
and not assume that someone else will do so.
Given recent
developments on our southern border, I also wish to comment on the violent
separation of immigrant children from their parents, and subsequent detention
in makeshift facilities on the U.S.-Mexico border. The American Academy of
Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, and the American Psychiatric
Association – organizations representing more than 250,000 doctors across the
country – have all
issued statements against the family separation and detention practices imposed
by the Trump Administration. The trauma these children are enduring at the
hands of our government will fundamentally change the physical structure of
their brains, and lead them to develop PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other
mental health challenges. It is clear to me as a doctor and as a mother that
our treatment of immigrant children – many of whom are fleeing gang violence,
sexual abuse, and extreme material deprivation – is immoral and inhumane.
As the late
Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate, said: “Indifference is the
sign of sickness, a sickness of the soul more contagious than any other.” We
cannot afford to be indifferent to the abuse that is happening all around us.
We must work to protect the most vulnerable in our communities, and to treat
our older adults and children – no matter where they come from – with the
dignity, humanity, respect, and compassion they deserve.
Leana Wen,
M.D., M.Sc.
Dr. Wen Gives Keynote
Address at Aetna Leaders Forum
Last Friday,
Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen gave the keynote address at
the 2018 Aetna Leaders Forum. She was invited by Aetna Foundation President Dr.
Garth Graham and Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini to discuss with insurance executives the impact
of poverty on health, and the ways in which public health can help level the
playing field. She emphasized the importance of having all three forms of
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) available on-demand and without prior
authorization. Dr. Wen also discussed the challenges involved in funding care
coordination, and noted that reimbursements for services are insufficient.
“There’s always
something we can do now,” said Dr. Wen. “We should never let perfect be the
enemy of the good. I applaud all of you for your attention to issues of health
and justice, and for working to promote health equity and reduce disparities.”
Click here to read the Health Department’s updated White Paper on the
state of health in Baltimore City.
Director of Opioid
Overdose Prevention and Behavioral Health Fellow Speak at Turnaround Tuesday
Program
On Tuesday, José
Rodriguez, Director of Opioid Overdose Prevention (pictured above), and Leah
Hill, Behavioral Health Fellow, were guest speakers at Turnaround Tuesday (TAT)
at Zion Baptist Church. TAT is a program that prepares Baltimoreans to reenter
the workforce through hands-on coaching and trainings. The TAT program was
developed by Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), a
broad-based, non-partisan, interfaith, and multiracial community-powered
organization rooted in Baltimore’s neighborhoods and congregations.
TAT participants
learned about the City’s three-pronged response to the epidemic: saving lives
with naloxone; expanding access to evidence-based treatment; and
de-stigmatizing addiction through outreach and education. Fifty-four
participants were trained on how to identify the signs of an overdose and how
to administer naloxone to save lives.
To learn more
about the Health Department’s efforts to address the opioid epidemic, click here.
Health Department Recognizes World Elder Abuse
Awareness Day
In recognition of World Elder Abuse
Awareness Day (WEAAD), the Division of Aging and CARE Services sponsored and
participated in two events last week in partnership with the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and
Baltimore City’s Department of Social Services. Every year,
communities around the world come together on June 15th to promote a better
understanding of abuse and neglect of older adults by increasing awareness of
the cultural, social, economic, and demographic factors affecting the
issue.
Pictured
top left: Information
and Referral Assistant Worker Jacqueline Russell helping constituents at
BCDSS’s Senior Resource Fair. Top Right: The Health Department’s
Ombudsman Team at Keswick’s Multicare for the educational forum on WEAAD (left
to right): Elizabeth Briscoe (MAP Director), Deborah Hamilton (Ombudsman
Manager), Maryann Brennan (Ombudsman), Lisa Jurist (LTCO Volunteer). Bottom
left: Deputy Commissioner Heang Tan and Director Stacy Rodgers at BCDSS’
Senior Resource Fair.
To
learn more about the Health Department’s Ombudsman Office, click here.
Director of Opioid
Overdose Prevention Speaks at Amazon Web Services Public Sector Summit
Amazon Web
Services (AWS) convened leaders from government, education, and the non-profit
sector at their ninth annual AWS Public Sector Summit in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
Stakeholders playing key roles in addressing the opioid epidemic from various
touch points, including the Health Department, were asked to participate in the
inaugural meeting of the AWS Opioid Crisis Council. Director of Opioid Overdose
Prevention, José Rodriguez, spoke about the Health Department’s efforts to
increase access to naloxone for all Baltimore City residents.
The speakers,
pictured from left to right, included: Matthew Hauler, Health Practice Lead,
Socrata; Norris Turner, PhD, VP of Measure Implementation and Strategic
Alliances, Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA); Nadia Adams, Chief Operating
Officer, Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science at Indiana
University; Lynn Gallagher, Cabinet Secretary, New Mexico Department of Health;
José Rodriguez, Director of Opioid Overdose Prevention, Baltimore City Health
Department; and Steve Scherholdt, Director, Ohio Board of Pharmacy. The panelists
shared their diverse perspectives and explored opportunities to address unmet
needs using a data-driven approach.
Click here to learn more about the Health
Department’s “Don’t Die” initiative.
Billion Step
Challenge Team Participates in Healthy Baltimore: A Festival of Wellness
On Saturday,
the Health Department’s Billion Step Challenge Team participated in Healthy
Baltimore: A Festival of Wellness at Port Covington to share the benefit of living
active lifestyles. The event focused on uplifting the body and soul with a day
of wellness and activities surrounding mindfulness, movement, and nourishment.
The event included
a day of great food, access to health and wellness vendors, and a special performance
by musician Talib Kweli. Pictured above (left
to right): Jessica Brittingham, Policy Coordinator, Office of Chronic
Disease Prevention; Miss Maryland Taylor Williams; Kendra Watkins, Americorps
Fellow.
To learn more
about the Billion Step Challenge and register to participate, click here.
Behavioral Health
Fellow Leads Naloxone Trainings at Various Enoch Pratt Free Library Locations
This week, Leah Hill, the Health Department’s
Behavioral Health Fellow, led naloxone trainings at two Pratt Library
locations: Patterson Park and Orleans Street. The trainings by Ms. Hill are part
of a series of trainings hosted by the Health Department at Pratt Library
branches across Baltimore City. During these trainings, which are free and open
to the public, Ms. Hill teaches participants how to properly administer both
the Narcan nasal spray and the Evzio auto-injector.
To find a
naloxone training near you, click here.
Health
Department STD Team Participates in Baltimore Pride
Approximately
15 members of the Health Department’s STD Team participated in Baltimore Pride on June 16 in the City’s Station North neighborhood.
Each year in
June, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore
and Central Maryland kicks off Pride Month in celebration of Baltimore’s
vibrant LGBTQ/SGL community. Baltimore Pride has grown from a small rally of a
dozen activists in 1975 to a parade of diversity showcasing the energy,
culture and experience of our community to more than 30,000 revelers each year.
To learn more
about the Health Department’s STD clinics, click here.
Health Department Offers
Naloxone Trainings at Enoch Pratt Free Libraries
Learn how to save a life from an opioid
overdose. Health Department staff will conduct naloxone trainings at various
Enoch Pratt Free Libraries. Registration is not required.
Tuesday, July 17 at 1:00 p.m.
Reisterstown Branch, 6310 Reisterstown Road,
21215
Thursday, July 19 at 1:00 p.m.
Forest Park Branch, 3023 Garrison Blvd., 21216
Thursday, August 2 at 2:00 p.m.
Northwood Branch, 4420 Loch Raven Blvd.,
21218
Friday, August 3 at 10 a.m.
Hamilton Branch, 5910 Harford Rd., 21214
To learn more, visit www.dontdie.org.
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