As Baltimore struggles to combat an unprecedented overdose crisis, the city is hemorrhaging top health officials tasked with leading its response.
Mayor Brandon Scott's office in a Monday evening news release abruptly announced that Health Commissioner Dr. Ihuoma Emenuga "will no longer serve as the Baltimore City Health Commissioner and is no longer employed by the City of Baltimore, effective immediately."
Spokesman Bryan Doherty on Tuesday confirmed to Mobtown Mag that Emenuga was "terminated," but he declined to comment further on the matter. The Baltimore Banner, however, reported that she was fired due to an ongoing criminal investigation.
Deputy City Administrator Simone Johnson will now take the helm as interim commissioner until Mary Beth Haller, deputy director of the health department's youth wellness and community health division, returns to the office on Aug. 13.
Haller has previously served as acting health commissioner during vacancies, including before Emenuga took on the role.
“The incredible staff at BCHD will continue to do their important work for the residents of Baltimore," Doherty said in a statement. "While we are eager to pursue our national search for the new permanent Health Commissioner, Mary Beth Haller has proven herself to be a battle-tested leader and the Mayor has the utmost confidence that, under her leadership, the Health Department’s critical work will proceed uninterrupted.”
Emenuga didn't last long in the position; she was just sworn in as commissioner in March.
Her firing comes less than two months after Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, the city's interim deputy mayor of equity, health and human services, resigned from her position and was replaced in an interim capacity by J.D. Merrill, the mayor's deputy chief of staff.
As a result, at a time when about three Baltimoreans die each day by overdose, the individuals in the city's top two public health positions have no medical expertise.
The turnover of health officials comes at a critical juncture in the overdose crisis.
Baltimore saw 1,043 overdose deaths in 2023, a 5.5% increase over the year prior, as the country's numbers dipped for the first time in five years, according to the Maryland Department of Health.
With 360 overdose deaths in Baltimore as of June, though, the city is on track to have fewer than 900 deaths by the end of the year – a number that would mark a notable drop but would require the death rate to remain steady despite an expected increase in fatalities during winter months.
In addition, there were 896 overdose deaths in Baltimore in the 12-month period ending in June, a death rate of 153 deaths per 100,000 people.
While a comparison to the last 12-month period is unavailable, there were 1,025 fatal overdoses in the city in the 12-month period ending in February, according to the state's previous data dashboard that was discontinued earlier this month.
That translated to a death rate of 175 deaths per 100,000 people.
Unfortunately, a potential decline in deaths this year is just hypothetical. And city leadership has created a culture of silence in regard to to the crisis, most recently canceling public hearings scheduled by city council members.
The mayor's office has avoided commenting on any overdose or opioid-related matters, citing ongoing litigation against opioid manufacturers that is going to trial in September.
The last comments of substance Scott made about the fentanyl-driven crisis came in late March during his State of the City address. Since then, it's estimated that nearly 400 people have died by overdose in Baltimore, based on the city's death rate last year.
It is difficult to believe that a city can buck the trend of surging overdose deaths without being able to maintain steady leadership to oversee its public health initiatives.
The full story behind the recent departures is unclear, but some things are plain and simple: The city must immediately bring back medical experts to lead its public health programs, and it must ensure that proper vetting is conducted if it wants to save lives.
At best, the city will diligently recruit two qualified health officials to help guide the city's harm reduction efforts with the help of a 44% increase in addiction and mental health services funding included in the 2025 budget.
However, that will require a level of transparency the city has failed to demonstrate recently, and a scenario that includes more unnecessary deaths seems uncomfortably plausible.
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