I brought a special guest to my official swearing in at City Hall last week – my 11-week-old son, Eli (pictured). I am honored to be sworn-in for a second term, and look forward to continue working with the dedicated staff at BCHD. I want to thank Mayor Pugh for the opportunity to continue serving Baltimore and to protect health and improve well-being for all residents in our City.

Every day, I feel fortunate to have a job I love and to work with people who understand how health is integrally tied to social justice and the future of our communities. Our City has many health challenges, but we must also call attention to the progress that we have made in improving health outcomes.

Our B’more for Healthy Babies program has resulted in an unprecedented drop in infant mortality of nearly 40% in the last 7 years. This program has also closed the disparity between black and white infant mortality by over 50%. Last year, we started Vision for Baltimore, which will get glasses to every child who needs them—free of charge, right in the schools. Recognizing that physical health alone is not enough, we extended mental health and trauma services to over 120 of our schools, and have launched programs in West Baltimore to address trauma and increase resiliency.

In the face of the opioid epidemic, we have launched one of the most aggressive overdose prevention programs in the country, including my issuing a blanket prescription for the antidote, naloxone, to every resident in our city. This determined approach has resulted in nearly 1,500 people’s lives being saved by fellow Baltimoreans—by our neighbors, family, and friends. Our outreach teams are on the streets every day to train residents on how we can all save a life.

We are starting a Stabilization Center, a first-of-its-kind 24/7 crisis center, so that we can treat addiction as the disease that it is. And we are working with our partners at Behavioral Health System Baltimore, the Police Department, the State’s Attorney’s Office, and others to implement programs like Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, so that individuals afflicted with the disease of addiction will be offered medical treatment instead of incarceration.

Last year, we launched our Healthy Baltimore 2020 citywide strategy with the ambitious goal to cut disparities by half over the next 10 years. I’m proud of our work protecting residents by providing comprehensive HIV, STD, hepatitis, and tuberculosis service in our two clinics, and to prevent and prepare for outbreaks like measles, Ebola, and Zika. I’m also proud of our new strategy to prevent falls in older adults, to expand virtual supermarkets and healthy corners to reduce food deserts, to start new programs such as the citywide fitness Billion Step Challenge and civic innovation project TECHealth, and to continue to treat violence as a public health issue through our Safe Streets program.

Baltimore has never taken a back seat to addressing public health challenges. Through collaborations with our many community, government and business partners across the City, I look forward to continuing to improve the health and well-being of our residents.

Sincerely,

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

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