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Dr. Leana Wen
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Dr. Leana Wen
Dr. Leana WenCommissioner
Baltimore City Health Department
Dr. Leana Wen oversees an agency with a $130 million budget and 1,000 employees, working tirelessly to advocate for and improve the well-being of Baltimore’s residents.
Among the health department’s top priorities are addressing the opioid epidemic, maternal and children’s health, senior services, HIV treatment and acute and chronic disease prevention. And no matter the issue, Wen says, she’s privileged to have a job that allows her to make a difference every day. In this way, her day job also provides the means to give back to her community.
A recent highlight includes helping set up a local nonprofit — Vision for Baltimore — to assess and bring glasses for free to the 10,000 children in the city that weren’t getting them.
“This is one example of the power of public health: a simple, upstream intervention can make a big difference in people’s lives,” she says.
Another success is the department’s creation of B’More for Healthy Babies, a program that’s helped lead to a 38 percent reduction of infant mortality in seven years.
Wen also has emerged as a national figure in the effort to combat opioid abuse, pushing for more resources to help communities, physicians and health care institutions address the epidemic.
“This is a very challenging time in our country’s history, when our core services are threatened, such as the right to health care,” Wen says. “I’m inspired to come to work every day to protect the safety net for our most vulnerable residents.”
