HEALTH
By Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun | September 9, 2012
Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties are getting sprayed for mosquitoes and health officials are warning residents to take precautions as the nation copes with the worst season of West Nile Virus since the disease was discovered in the United States in 1999. One person in Maryland has died from the disease this summer and 21 have contracted it, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Nationally, the potentially fatal disease, spread by mosquitoes that pick it up from infected birds, has afflicted 1,993 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
NEWS
By Jacques Kelly, The Baltimore Sun | September 7, 2012
Charles "Chuck" Busnuk, a retired Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene grants writer, died of cancer Aug. 31 at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. He was 64 and lived in Canton. Born in Baltimore and raised in Highlandtown, he was a 1966 graduate of Archbishop Curley High School, where he played the cymbals in the school band. He earned a bachelor's degree in geography from Morgan State University. In 1970, he became a juvenile counselor for the Juvenile Services Administration.
NEWS
By Scott Dance | June 20, 2012
Maryland health officials have activated a state heat emergency plan, and some counties have followed suit, with temperatures already topping 90 degrees by 11 a.m. Wednesday. The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is warning residents to be wary of heat-related illnesses like heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Heat stroke symptoms include dry red skin, convulsions, disorientation, delirium and coma. Heat exhaustion is a milder form of heat stroke and can cause extreme weakness, muscle cramps, nausea, or headache.
HEALTH
By Meredith Cohn | May 24, 2012
As Memorial Day approaches and the temperatures rise, some state health officials are reminding residents to take care of themselves and their children and neighbors. The state is activating its heat emergency website, dhmh.maryland.gov/extremeheat , which has information about preventing death and illness. Heat advisories will be issued when it feels like it's at least 105 degrees after heat and humidity are factored. Health officials say at this heat level heat stroke and exhaustion are common.
HEALTH
Andrea K. Walker | April 26, 2012
Want to know how many people have asthma or diabetes in the county where you live? A new state web portal was recently launched that provides this and other health data for every county in Maryland. The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene partnered with the Hilltop Institute at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County to create the website that uses data about Medicaid recipients. The website can be found at http://www.md-medicaid.org/ia-maps/ . The interactive website has data on chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension.
EXPLORE
April 16, 2012
Working in tandem with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Harford County Health Department has launched its Local Health Improvement Process for identifying the county's critical health needs and targeting them for action. The Harford County Local Health Improvement Process is part of a statewide initiative, the State Health Improvement Process, which is addressing 39 key health objectives, including those promoting healthy babies, healthy social environments, safe physical environments, infectious disease prevention, chronic disease prevention, and access to health care.