Leana Wen: Baltimore City Names New Health Commissioner

WMAR Staff
WMAR Baltimore

A Harvard-educated Rhodes scholar and a practicing emergency room physician will be Baltimore City’s new health commissioner.

Dr. Leana Wen, who most recently served as director of patient-centered care and assistant professor of emergency medicine and health policy at George Washington University, officially starts on Thursday.

She replaces Dr. Jacquelyn Duval-Harvey, who had served as interim health commissioner since May 2014 and has been named Director of the Mayor’s Office of Human Services.

“I am eager to join Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s administration and work to tackle the huge health challenges that face our city,” said Dr. Wen in a statement.  “In my first 100 days, we will be launching interdisciplinary campaigns focusing on three critical issues: Youth wellness, substance abuse, and population health.”

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