946 - Baltimore's Back-to-Back Mass Overdoses

About this episode:

This July, a dangerous influx of opioids triggered two mass overdose events in the Penn North neighborhood of Baltimore. A swift and nimble response from the city and community stakeholders resulted in zero fatalities. In this episode: Dr. Letitia Dzirasa and Sara Whaley from the City of Baltimore explain what happened, detail the multipronged emergency response, and share how the city plans to move forward in addressing the opioid crisis.

Guest:

Dr. Letitia Dzirasa is the Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services with the City of Baltimore.

Sara Whaley, MPH, MSW, is the executive director of the City of Baltimore's Overdose Response Team.

Host:

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Show links and related content:

• Overdose Response Strategic Plan—City of Baltimore

• Community leaders, experts address Baltimore's overdose crisis—WEAA

• Baltimore mass overdose: 'Coordinated neighborhood stabilization response' launched in Penn-North—WBAL

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