Baltimore City Mayor Names New Health Commissioner

Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has named Dr. Leana S. Wen as the new health commissioner to replace former commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot who left early this year for a position in New York City’s Health Department. As reported in The Baltimore Sun:

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has tapped a high-profile emergency room physician and former Rhodes scholar to be Baltimore’s new health commissioner and guide the city in addressing the root causes of substance abuse.

The appointment of Dr. Leana S. Wen, a Chinese immigrant who entered college at age 13, will be announced Friday. She is expected to start Jan. 15, pending City Council confirmation.

“She has a lot of good energy and a strong desire for public service,” Rawlings-Blake told The Baltimore Sun on Thursday. “She has a passion for public health, and I think she has the right experience to help move the health department forward.

As part of her charge to address the city’s heroin issues, Dr. Wen plans to increase the number of people trained to administer naloxone and to strengthen the city’s needle exchange program.

For more information read the full article in The Baltimore Sun.

Local health departments will be discussed at MACo’s Winter Conference held January 7-9, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Hotel in Cambridge, MD. The session  “Public Health Threats: What Every Public Official Should Know” will focus on the fundamentals of the public health departments and their role in protecting the health of county citizens.

Learn more about MACo’s Winter Conference:

Questions? Contact Meetings & Events Director Virginia White.