Join Us For A Community Meeting, Discussion of Health In Your Neighborhood

As part of our Neighborhood Health initiative, this evening Baltimore City Health Department will hold its first ever community meeting presenting the 2011 Neighborhood Health Profiles. There will be 13 others, one in each council district, which will follow over the course of the next several weeks.

This event marks a distinct change in direction for the health department. It’s a direction that is more neighborhood-focused. They say all politics is local. The same can be said just as loudly for health. Since the release of Healthy Baltimore 2015 in May of 2011, we have been focusing more on the social determinants of health – things such as transportation, housing, employment and education that together influence community health outcomes to a greater degree than direct medical services. The Profiles paint a picture of health that includes the dimensions of our built environment for each of our neighborhoods. While that in and of itself is more than most large cities have done, it is not enough.

All too often public health data sits in the ethosphere with missed opportunities zipping by. These community meetings signify our intent to create a different way of engaging with communities. It’s the beginning of a process by which we more fully collaborate with communities to identify common areas where we can take action.

The health issues facing many parts of our city, at first glance, can appear overwhelming. A closer inspection, as offered by the Profiles, makes clear that a process of prioritizing and directing broad-based coordinated efforts to targeted areas will be a winning strategy for the city as a whole.

Don’t be a spectator – we all need to have some skin in the game if we’re to realize a Baltimore where all residents realize their full health potential.

Check out our schedule of events and take the first step.

How Baltimore Is "Moving Forward" on HIV/AIDS

Today we mark a monumental achievement in our ongoing fight against the scourge of HIV/AIDS. For three decades now, HIV has been a long-standing and significant health problem in Baltimore, with terrible consequences. Countless people from all walks of life have died from HIV/AIDS. More than 13,000 people—two percent of the City’s population—are living with HIV.

In addition to the physical and emotional tolls the virus takes on its victims, the costs to our society are staggering. Everyone reading this, I’m sure, has been touched by this epidemic in some form or fashion. Through various programs and initiatives—the City has made tremendous progress in getting more people tested for HIV, getting more HIV positive people into care, and helping those with HIV live longer, healthier lives.

Now, on the eve of World AIDS Day, I’m pleased to report Baltimore has a new, aggressive plan to dramatically reduce new HIV infections, expand treatment, better coordinate services and make a significant improvement to the status of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Baltimore. On Tuesday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake unveiled our new strategic report on HIV, “Moving Forward”. The strategy will help us better engage non-profit and community partners in our efforts educate residents and improve the lives of those who are HIV-positive.

The report was prepared by the Baltimore City Commission on HIV/AIDS.  It adopts specific, measurable goals in four key areas and outlines a variety of strategic initiatives to achieve those goals in an accelerated timeframe.

1.      Reduce new HIV infections by 25% in Baltimore City by 2015

2.      Increase access and improve health outcomes by facilitating earlier, more continuous, and more comprehensive care

3.      Reduce HIV-related health disparities by focusing resources and coordinated services on the most at-risk populations

4.      Achieve a more collaborative City response by creating effective linkages between services providers, advocacy organizations, and community-based models

The measurable goals and specific strategic initiatives outlined for each of the key goals are designed to drive aggressive and fundamental changes, yet are calibrated to be realistically achievable by 2015. I’m especially pleased that our vision aligns with the new National HIV/AIDS Strategy, as well as the ambitious goals we’ve set for improving the health of Baltimore residents through our Healthy Baltimore 2015 agenda.

Reducing HIV disparities is of particular concern in Baltimore. Eighty-seven percent of new HIV infections are among African-Americans, who only represent 64% of Baltimore’s population. This is one of the City’s most glaring health disparities. As referenced in the Strategy, 44 percent of the city population from 10 zip codes represented 60% of new HIV cases. These same zip codes have high rates of STDs, poverty and crime, along with higher rates of other poverty-related health problems, like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The Health Department, working in concert with our partners at the state and in the community, is working hard to address these needs. We provided more than 45,000 HIV tests in calendar year 2010. Through these efforts we identified 283 people who were previously unaware of their positive HIV status. Additionally, we operate two STD clinics that provide in excess of 30,000 patient visits per year, and offer HIV testing to all patients who register. Lastly, we are preparing a social marketing campaign in collaboration with Maryland Institute College of Art aimed at increasing awareness and testing among African-American MSM, the group that is currently experiencing the highest rate of HIV transmission.

Our focus is to ensure that patients who test positive make it all the way from receiving their results, through notification of their sex and needle-sharing partners, to being linked to HIV primary care.  As leaders of these efforts, we have a responsibility to hold ourselves and each other accountable to achieving measurable results

It is important to realize that the report provides critical guidelines for dramatically reducing HIV/AIDS in Baltimore, but reaching the target goals that have been established cannot be achieved unless communities and individuals also make effective prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS a priority.

This strategy is our path forward. I’m counting on all of you to help us put this strategy into action. Let’s show the world that Baltimore is aware, that Baltimore cares, and that Baltimore is committed to stopping the spread of HIV.

Baltimore City Health Department Releases First Latino Health Report

As the Health Department works to reduce disparities and improve the health of all Baltimoreans, it is important for us to have a solid understanding of the strengths and health challenges faced by particular groups. As the fastest growing segment of our city, Latino Baltimoreans are one population whose health status we must examine more closely. To this end, we have released the first ever examination of the health status and trends among Baltimore’s Latino residents.

In general, Baltimore’s Latino population is ethnically diverse and relatively young (median age is 27 years, compared to 35 for Baltimore overall). The report revealed some encouraging news about the status of this group, who were found to have lower overall mortality and infant mortality rates. It also revealed that fewer Latinos are smokers – 16 percent of adults, compared to 28 percent of all Baltimoreans.

However, Latinos in Baltimore still face a number of significant health challenges, including lack of health insurance and medical homes, high incidence of binge alcohol drinking, and death by accident - which is the third leading cause of death among this group.

The report was released yesterday during an event held at Baltimore Medical System’s Highlandtown Healthy Living Center, which sits in one of the largest Latino communities in Baltimore. BMS has served between 8,500 and 9,000 patients for whom English isn’t their first language. They employ bilingual physicians and other staff, many of whom also have multi-cultural backgrounds that help them understand the needs of patients from other countries. For Baltimore's growing refugee population, BMS also provides foreign language interpretation for initial health screenings and ongoing medical care.

As one of the largest providers of health care to the Latino community, Baltimore Medical System has long recognized the importance of providing culturally appropriate healthcare and language access services. President & CEO Jay Wolvovsky supports their mission to provide healthcare to all residents of the community – especially the underserved. Over the years, the demographics in Baltimore City have changed dramatically, and BMS has changed with them. Today, 25% of their staff is bilingual, and they offer many services that help patients overcome barriers to care.

I would like to thank Baltimore Medical Systems for their strong support of Latino healthcare in Baltimore and their partnership in the release of The Health of Latinos in Baltimore City.

For the first time, we see how Latinos living in Baltimore City compare to city residents as a whole, and Latinos statewide and nationwide. In bringing together data about Latino health, this report can serve as a tool for public health efforts to advance the health of the Baltimore City Latino community. It’s my hope that this report also will spark conversations about setting priorities for action and new ideas for change.

Check out the full report, available in English and Spanish, on our Website. And here are links to media coverage of the release in the Baltimore Sun newspaper and WJZ TV.