Documentary "Rebounding From Loss" to air Saturday on WBAL; Baltimore basketball team's commitment to each other and reducing violence is an inspiring tale

Recently, I had the privilege of attending a private screening of a new documentary that will air on WBAL TV (Channel 11) this Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. It was a privilege because I got to experience the film with the young men who were at the center of the documentary.

“Rebounding from Loss - A Season with a 6^th Man” chronicles the basketball season of a team from Benjamin Franklin at Masonville Cove, a new high school in Curtis Bay. The players dedicated their season to a team member who died from an accidental shooting. WBAL's Deborah Weiner followed the team, chronicling their story.

If this was a movie review, the headline would read “You’ll Laugh, You’ll Cry - You’ll Leave Uplifted”. These are young men who are instantly likable and through the course of the documentary one gets to see them as the youngsters they are - playful and smart, yet very much aware that one wrong move could cost them their lives.

According to 2011 Neighborhood Health Profile data the Health Department released in December, the Curtis Bay/Brooklyn/Hawkins Point area is a part of Baltimore where the rates of poverty and single parent households are slightly above the citywide average and the rates of homicide and non-fatal shootings are 24% and 12% higher, respectively. What’s so uplifting about this documentary is that these kids and their community are not letting themselves be defined by the statistics.  

We often focus on risk factors for youth violence to the exclusion of protective factors. This documentary paints a vivid picture of the aspects of real life that keep kids and their communities safe. Some of the most important protective factors include:

• Good adult role models – their coach, their principal and their fallen teammate’s mom are top among them.
• Strong peer networks – it’s clear that these young men have goals and dreams (all the graduating seniors are going to college) and they are supporting each other as brothers would.
• Strong connection to their school.
• Involved in team sports – I can’t say enough about the discipline, focus and mutual accountability one learns from playing a team sport.

I highly recommend seeing this documentary with your friends, your kids and their friends and anyone else that can influence a youth’s life. It’s a perfect example of how we all play a role in reducing violence.

It's fortunate the release coincides with National Youth Violence Prevention Week. There are more than 70 events around Baltimore this week. Check out our Youth Violence Prevention Week webpage for a full listing of events and more information.

Take care B’More.

Show Your Heart Some Love This Month

Today starts American Heart Month.  It’s an annual ritual that reminds us to take stock of our heart health by knowing our numbers, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose, as well as eating right and exercising.

National Wear Red Day is Friday, Feb. 3.

On my way to a meeting this morning I almost had a fender bender because of reading while driving. No, I wasn’t texting or looking at my GPS. I was horrified by the new billboard on I-83 North. Cute little Suzie Utz is pandering to our comfort food weaknesses when she says, “The way to this city’s heart is through its stomach.” I guess my outrage meter was already a little elevated because I had just seen a television commercial where Dunkin' Donuts is marketing heart-shaped donuts as a way to let our loved ones know how much we care about them.

There are physiologic effects to eating foods high in salt and sugar that include the release of certain “pleasure” hormones _ the same hormones the body releases during sex. The big food conglomerates are fully aware of this, and they bombard us with messages that mislead us into thinking that high fat and calorie foods are synonymous with love. Don’t be misled – this is not the same joy we derive from eating ‘comfort foods’ that remind us of our grandmothers.

If you really love someone, have the courage to take away the potato chips and donuts. Spend time outdoors together enjoying the health benefits that nature has to offer. Talk about supporting each other in living a healthier life.

I don’t believe the long-term picture is as bleak as some would paint it. But Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was correct earlier today when she said government alone cannot fix the obesity crisis. We all play a role, and it starts with modeling good heart health behaviors for our children.

So what steps will you take this month to improve your heart health? For information about upcoming screenings and quitting smoking, a good place to start is our Website, www.baltimorehealth.org. There you’ll also find a video of the Mayor’s remarks from City Hall today.

Take care, B’more.

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.

Safe Streets Baltimore: New Study Shows Program Is An Effective Public Health Approach To Reducing Gun Violence

Over the past ten years, Baltimore has made significant progress reducing violence. Homicide is at its lowest level since 1978, and juvenile homicides and shootings are down nearly 70% from 2001.

The Health Department’s Safe Streets Baltimore initiative is an important component of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s strategy to reduce homicide and shooting rates. Launched in 2007, Safe Streets is an evidence-based, public health initiative that intervenes in crises, mediates disputes between individuals, and intercedes on group disputes to prevent violent events.

Safe Streets currently operates in Cherry Hill and McElderry Park, but today, I joined Mayor Rawlings-Blake in announcing the expansion of this vital program. Safe Streets Baltimore will be expanding to additional communities as a result of a $2.2 million dollar award from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  The funding will also be used to expand the initiative to two additional communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence. Interested community groups can review the RFP at http://baltimorehealth.org/rfp.html.

Our expansion of Safe Streets is supported by the release of a new study today by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health demonstrating the program’s effectiveness. As noted in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Public Health blog, this study demonstrates clearly that a public health intervention can be a successful means for reducing youth violence. Violence is a learned behavior, and as a learned behavior, it can be prevented using the same methods we use to stop the spread of disease.

Some of the key findings of this study include:

•         In all four neighborhoods (McElderry Park, Ellwood Park, Madison-Eastend, and Cherry Hill) the program was associated with a statistically significant decline in either homicides or nonfatal shootings, or both.

•         Overall, researchers estimated the program prevented at least 5 homicide incidents and 35 nonfatal shooting incidents.

•         In Cherry Hill, the program was associated with a 56 percent decline in homicides and a 34 percent decline in nonfatal shootings.

•         The program was associated with a 34 percent drop in nonfatal shootings in Elwood Park.

•         Researchers estimated that Safe Streets Baltimore was responsible for a 26 percent reduction in homicides in McElderry Park over the nearly three and a half years the program was in place. This site did not experience a homicide during the first 23 months of program implementation.

I would like to thank those who have invested in Safe Streets and urge local foundations and the business and faith communities to continue to step up and invest in this initiative – which has been proven to save lives.

We can be a safe city, but we must continue to support those programs which are contributing to our success. While the Health Department has been awarded funds for expansion of Safe Streets, additional funding is needed to sustain the existing two sites past this fiscal year.  The Health Department will use these positive evaluation results to seek additional funding for Cherry Hill and McElderry Park. I join the Mayor in urging local faith, non-profit, and businesses to lend their support to this vital initiative.

To view the full report on the effectiveness of our Safe Streets program, or for more information or to find out how to apply to become a Safe Streets site, please visit the Health Department’s Website, www.baltimorehealth.org/safestreets.

Take Care, B’more!

Baltimore Declares First Code Blue of the Season

Because anticipated drop in temperatures and expected snowfall are a potential danger to health, I declared the first Code Blue cold weather alert of the winter season for tonight. The City’s Code Blue is a multi-agency effort to reduce hypothermia deaths this winter by protecting homeless individuals, seniors and other vulnerable populations from extreme cold weather.

In response to the City’s expected freezing temperatures overnight as well as potential snow accumulation, tonight’s code blue declaration will trigger several responses aimed at providing for those must susceptible to extreme cold weather:

• The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services operates a 24-hour Housing & Resource Center for men and women at 620 Fallsway.
• Private homeless shelters will be encouraged to extend their hours and keep people indoors.
• Homeless Services will provide 60 additional beds for residents seeking meals and sleeping quarters accessible thru the Housing & Resource Center at 620 Fallsway.
• Additional cold weather education and outreach efforts, as needed.

Last winter, there were 8 days when the high temperature did not surpass 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

The state Medical Examiner’s office recorded 11 hypothermia-related deaths in Baltimore.

Our city’s most at risk of hypothermia death include the elderly, individuals with pre-existing heart conditions, those who abuse alcohol, drug users and the homeless.

As always, it is important to minimize your risk of hypothermia by staying indoors in safely heated areas. If you must go outside, be sure to dress warmly and stay dry.  Also remember that drinking alcohol – even in small quantities – can increase your risk of cold-related injuries, so imbibe with caution. And of course, if you have elderly or chronically ill neighbors, check in on them to make sure they are staying warm. 

On this first Cold Blue night of the season, it’s also important to remind residents lacking heat of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from using generators in enclosed spaces, or burns caused by alternate heating sources. Energy assistance is available to residents in need at the Office of Home Energy, 410-396-5555.

If you or someone you know needs shelter tonight, please find the list of city and private shelters on our website.  For other cold-related inquiries and service requests, or to find a nearby homeless shelter, residents can call 311 (410-396-3100 after hours).

Bundle up, and take care, B’more.

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As always, it is important to minimize your risk of hypothermia by staying indoors in safely heated areas. If you must go outside, be sure to dress warmly and stay dry.  Also remember that drinking alcohol – even in small quantities – can increase your risk of cold-related injuries, so imbibe with caution. And of course, if you have elderly or chronically ill neighbors, check in on them to make sure they are staying warm. 

On this first Cold Blue night of the season, it’s also important to remind residents lacking heat of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from using generators in enclosed spaces, or burns caused by alternate heating sources. Energy assistance is available to residents in need at the Office of Home Energy, 410-396-5555.

If you or someone you know needs shelter tonight, please find the list of city and private shelters on our website.  For other cold-related inquiries and service requests, or to find a nearby homeless shelter, residents can call 311 (410-396-3100 after hours).

Bundle up, and take care, B’more. 

Honor National Flu Vaccination Week By Getting Immunized

Winter is here, and that means a host of wonderful traditions – ice skating, hot chocolate, building snowmen, and the Hampden holiday light show. It also means we are in the midst of flu season. This week is National Flu Vaccination Week (December 4 – 10). If you haven’t already received your annual flu vaccine, I encourage you to get one before it’s too late. 

According to CDC, it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection. Therefore, CDC recommends early vaccination to ensure that as many people as possible are protected during the current flu season. That is why it is so important for people to get vaccinated early in the season.

It is also important to take preventive measures at this time of year: wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, and stay home when you’re sick. These steps will keep you from spreading or catching the flu this year.

Typical flu symptoms include fever, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache and muscle aches, and extreme fatigue. While most people recover quickly and fully from the flu, others are at risk for more serious complications.This includes children under five, adults over 65, pregnant women, and those with certain health problems. Residents in these high risk categories are encouraged to contact their physician as soon as they experience any flu symptoms, especially fever and cough, to find out if they may benefit from anti-viral medications. If taken early in the course of the flu, these medications can help decrease the length of illness. Also, persons over 65 years of age should check with their healthcare provider to make sure they are vaccinated for pneumococcal disease.

If you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet, I encourage you to visit one of the Health Department’s TIKE clinics. Shots are free and there is no appointment necessary. Other tips on avoiding flu are available on the DHMH website at www.dhmh.maryland.gov, and from the CDC website's flu information web pages at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/.

A Major League Win for Tobacco Cessation: MLB Bans Smokeless Tobacco in Games

Over the summer, I shared with you the initiative among health commissioners from 15 major US cities – including Baltimore – to urge Major League Baseball to curb tobacco use among its players. When MLB announced the terms of the players’ new contract recently, we received extraordinarily good news: the new bargaining agreement includes historic limitations on the use of smokeless tobacco by players, managers and coaches.  

The new agreement prohibits players, managers and coaches from using smokeless tobacco during televised interviews, at team events, autograph signings and other appearances made on behalf of their teams. Any time when fans are in the ballpark, they will be prohibited from carrying tobacco products in their uniforms or on their body, and violators are subject to discipline.

Major League Baseball and the players’ union are jointly launching a nationwide public service campaign against smokeless tobacco, with youth – and in particular, young baseball players – as the target audiences. The Major League Baseball Players Association is establishing its own Tobacco Cessation Center, to be launched in the 2012 season. In addition, players will be screened for oral cancer during their annual physicals, probably at spring training.

This is extraordinary news, because the simple fact of the matter is that tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. As cigarette smoking has declined, the tobacco industry has increased its marketing of smokeless products and is spending record sums to promote them. But smokeless tobacco use is itself very dangerous, causing serious diseases of the mouth, including oral cancer. In addition, there is reason to worry that smokeless tobacco use by young persons may serve as a gateway to cigarette smoking, this nation’s leading preventable cause of premature death and disease. The new contract means that players, coaches, and managers will be offered the resources to quit and the screenings they need.

To show they are tobacco-free, many players turn their pockets inside out. That trend was pioneered by former Baltimore Oriole Tony Batista. Come Opening Day next year, I hope to see a whole lot more inside-out pockets on display.

While these provisions do not include an outright prohibition on smokeless tobacco use during games, they represent the first steps baseball ever has taken to begin breaking the game’s addiction to tobacco.  The new agreement will make a difference in how smokeless tobacco is perceived by young people, and hopefully represents a major step toward its ultimate elimination from the game.

To show your appreciation to MLB for taking this major step toward eliminating tobacco use from America’s greatest pastime, visit Tobacco Free Baseball and sign their online thank you letter. If you are anyone you know wants to quit tobacco, we urge you to call 1-800-QUIT NOW for information on how to stop.

Take care, B’more.