On Monday, Dr. Wen joined Stephanie Mayor Rawlings-Blake, Congressmen Elijah Cummings, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes at Institutes For Behavior Resources Inc REACH to announce a new package of bills passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to address the national opioid abuse and overdose epidemic.

In all, the House passed 17 bipartisan bills last week that will expand access to overdose reversal drugs, reevaluate best practices for pain management, and examine over-prescription of opioids to student athletes and veterans, among other measures. We want to thank our Congressional delegation for helping pass this legislation and for their continued leadership here in Baltimore and for representing us in our nation's capital.

While we have made significant strides around the disease of addiction—we cannot continue to make progress without also providing funding for quality, on-demand treatment.

We were also joined by Dr. Yngvild Olsen, Medical Director, REACH Health Services and Darrell Hodge, a Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) patient who shared his experience with the program at IBR.

By continuing to work with our federal leaders to invest in treatment, we can truly address this public health emergency and save the lives of thousands of Baltimoreans.

In the latest effort to increase transparency and streamline Baltimore’s restaurant inspection process, this week BCHD released a new inspection web portal that provides the public with easy access to recent food service facility inspection data online.

This new public portal, available at http://baltimore.foodinspectionreports.com/, offers greater transparency into the inspection process and allows constituents to make better informed dining choices.

The result of a Mayor’s Innovation Fund Loan, the online system officially introduced this week offers users the capability to view inspection reports as of January 1, 2016 and allows users to sort facilities by name, address, zip code, or city council district. The public portal will also allow facility operators to showcase good inspection results by directing customers to review their inspection reports online.

“People need to be able to make informed decisions about where they want to eat. This new tool will help residents make better choices for their families while serving as a badge of honor for those establishments who continue to faithfully serve our residents,” Dr. Wen said Wednesday.

Following legislation introduced last year by Councilman Brandon Scott, BCHD now posts recent food establishment closures online at http://health.baltimorecity.gov/environmental-health/recent-food-establishment-closures and via social media. The legislation also required restaurants to post closure notices on the premises, detailing reasons for the establishment’s closure.

“This online resource will help bring Baltimore into to the 21st century and better ensure the health and safety of our families,” added Councilman Brandon Scott. "We will continue to hold people accountable and improve the ability of residents to know what's happening in their communities.”

To view the new the new web portal, please visit http://baltimore.foodinspectionreports.com/. The online tool will also soon be available on OpenBaltimore. 

Remember, complaints regarding the unsafe food handling or unsanitary conditions of a food services facility can be reported by calling 311 or by accessing the Baltimore CitiTrack Service Request System online.

On Thursday, Commissioner Wen delivered a keynote commencement address to the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Class of 2016.

In her address, Dr. Wen applauded the students for their commitment to health, celebrated with them their fantastic achievement, and called on them not to hesitate to be directly involved in their communities— wherever they go next.

“As physicians, we are entrusted with a special privilege: to identify the injustices, call them out, and close the gap of disparities,” Dr. Wen said. “It will only happen once—the day you go from being medical student to doctor. I feel inspired to be part of this group who will serve our patients, champion our communities, and tackle our society’s injustices.”

Project Presence is the Baltimore City Health Department's collaboration effort with community volunteers using visual storytelling to address social stigma surrounding sexual identity and sexual health.

This debut exhibition, which took place last Saturday at Impact Hub on North Avenue, was a showcase of photographs of people of color in Baltimore’s LBGTQ community in an effort to promote a healthier and more inclusive Baltimore. During the amazing launch, local artists and activists convened to listen to the subjects of the photographs tell their stories. We even had the honor of being joined by Baltimore’s own John Waters, who shared his enthusiasm for the project with the group!

If you missed the opening exhibition, the exhibits will be at the same location through Saturday, 5/21. These are not just photos; they are stories that speak to our city’s truth. 

And if you have not already done so, check out their page or visit #‎ProjectPresence to learn how you can help work towards a more inclusive Baltimore.

To help address the alarming rate of cardiovascular disease in men, Baltimore City Health Department has partnered with the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) to support their Healthy Men program, which encourages patients to monitor their blood pressure and helps link patients to community resources and aid in any personal situations that may be influencing their health.

Since the program’s inception, the team has screened over 1250 individuals, identified over 850 hypertensive African American men, and provided hundreds of men across Baltimore with the education and resources necessary needed to lead healthier live.

In appreciation of that immense success and in recognition of National High Blood Pressure Education Month, Dr. Wen joined 120 men who have participated in the Healthy Men program for a celebration at Camden Yards. During the event many program participants shared their powerful stories and encouraged their peers to continue down the path to better health. During the game, UMMC staff also operated mobile community health outreach vans at Camden Yards offering attendees the opportunity to get screened at Camden Yards.

During mosquito season, there is the potential for local transmission in Baltimore if an individual with travel associated Zika is bitten by a mosquito and that mosquito then bites other residents. Zika cannot be transmitted via casual contact (i.e. shaking someone’s hand), but can be transmitted through sexual contact. It can also be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her baby.

BCHD will soon release a Zika Ambassador Program (ZAP) and informational packets which will provide City agencies, community based organizations, neighborhood associations, and individuals with the information they need to be aware of Zika, how to prevent it, and how to educate others. Through the ZAP, the Health Department will also hold “train the trainer” sessions for individuals from community-based organizations to learn about Zika and receive the tools necessary to educate individuals they serve in their community.

In the meantime, to learn more about the Zika Virus, including information for women who are, may become pregnant, and their partners, as well as tips to prevent the potential spread of the virus, please visit: http://health.baltimorecity.gov/zika-virus/

The CDC has additional information including the latest travel guidance, available at: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/

Thank you for joining us for the Baltimore City Health Department's latest B’More Health Talk!

Our last discussion focused around issues of trauma, mental health, and the development of the new citywide strategy on trauma and emotional well-being.

These twice-monthly virtual town hall meetings are an opportunity for leaders in our community to discuss efforts to reduce health disparities, engage in our city's collaborative strategy, and share the work that organizations are doing.

As always, you can join us by calling 605-562-3180 and using the access code 117-245-291 and tweet-chat live with the hashtag #BMoreHealthTalks.

In the meantime, we hope you will email us at bmoreheard@baltimorecity.gov with suggestions, ideas, or comments for this and future episodes.

You can listen to all of our past Bmore Health Talks on our Soundcloud. 

Employees who don't get enough physical activity may be risking your company's health bottom line. Physical inactivity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. These chronic conditions lower productivity, raise health care costs, and, in the case of obesity, increase the likelihood of workplace injuries by nearly 50%.

The benefits of regular physical activity include: 

• Feeling happier, less stressed, and mentally sharper.
• Experiencing fewer sick days-people who exercise 5 or more days a week have 435 fewer sick days.
• Being more productive-people say they're 15% more productive on days they are physically active than on days when they aren't.

We encourage each division to incorporate a few these activities to get your staff moving this month:

• Walking meetings: Build physical activity into your everyday meetings by walking instead of sitting.
• Stretch breaks: Encourage employees to stand up and stretch every 60 minutes.
• Move It Monday: Research shows that starting a habit on Monday can be seen as a fresh start and has significant cultural meaning. Click here for activities to implement this coming Monday.

In addition, we began a department-wide challenge where teams compete to cut out the most sugar-sweetened beverages for this month. Let us know about your team’s struggles and triumphs and we will feature you in our next newsletter! Email Cagla.Buyukkoc@baltimorecity.gov with your story.

Mental Health America and its affiliates across the country have led the observance of May as Mental Health Month since 1949. This year’s theme is- Life with a Mental Illness- and will call on individuals to share what life with a mental illness feels like for them in words, pictures, and video by tagging their social media posts with #mentalillnessfeelslike (or submitting to MHA anonymously). Join the conversation and let’s end the stigma for folks living with mental illness or disorder.

On behalf of Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen and the Baltimore City Health Department, we invite you to join us in a discussion entitled, “The Sweet Truth: Sugary Drinks, Community Health, and Social Justice.”

On Tuesday, May 31, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Southern Baptist Church (1701 North Chester Street, 21213), we will bring activists, health professionals, and community leaders from throughout the City together for a conversation about the dangers of sugar-sweetened beverages. Sugary drinks are a driving cause of obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay; they are also disproportionally marketed to young people of color, further fueling health disparities.

At this community forum, we will discuss the health impacts of consuming sugary drinks and the concrete policy actions and public health campaigns taking place across the City to reduce sugary drink consumption.

You will also be able to connect with local health and food activists who are passionate about standing up to the beverage industry for the sake of the health of Baltimore's residents.

The event will be hosted by Sugar Free Kids, the Southern Baptist Church, and the Baltimore City Health Department.

Please RVSP online!

Don't forget to sign our petition if you have not done so already!