Leana Wen

Leana Wen
Born Wen Linyan
(1983-01-27) January 27, 1983
Shanghai, China
Education California State University, Los Angeles (BSc)
Washington University (MD)
Merton College, Oxford (MSc, MA)
Occupation Physician, health commissioner, author
Notable work When Doctors Don't Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests
Spouse(s)
Sebastian Walker (m. 2012)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 溫麟衍
Simplified Chinese 温麟衍
Hanyu Pinyin Wēn Línyǎn
Website Official website Edit this at Wikidata

Leana Sheryle Wen (Chinese: 温麟衍; born January 27, 1983), is an American physician, public health advocate, and author. She is the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and author of the book When Doctors Don't Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests.[1]

Wen previously practiced as an emergency physician at the George Washington University, where she served as a professor in the School of Medicine & Health Sciences and professor in health policy at the Milken Institute School of Public Health.[2] Prior to this, she was an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School.[3] She also served as the national president of the American Medical Student Association and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine/Resident and Student Association.[4] From December 2014 until early September 2018, Wen served as the health commissioner for Baltimore City under two mayors.

On September 12, 2018, Wen was appointed head of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, effective November 12, 2018, following her planned departure as Health Commissioner of Baltimore City, Maryland.[5][6] She is Planned Parenthood's first Asian American president.[6]

Early life and education

Born Wen Linyan (温麟衍) in Shanghai, China on January 27, 1983,[7][8] to Ying Sandy Zhang and Xiaolu Wen,[9] Wen moved with her parents to the U.S. when she was eight, by then having the English name Leana Sheryle Wen.[10] Granted political asylum, the Wen family lived in Compton and East Los Angeles in Southern California.[11][12][13] In 2003, Wen and her family became U.S. citizens.[12]

Wen's mother, who died from breast cancer in 2010, first worked as a hotel room cleaner and video store clerk before becoming an elementary school teacher.[13][14] Her father delivered newspapers and was a dishwasher, later serving as technology manager for The Chinese Daily News in Los Angeles.[3][13]

Attending the Early Entrance Program (EEP) at California State University, Los Angeles, Wen graduated summa cum laude at age 18 with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry, in 2001.[9][11] She received a Doctor of Medicine from Washington University School of Medicine and has two master's degrees, one in Modern Chinese studies[15] and the other in economic and social history from the Merton College, Oxford in England where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She also met her future husband, Sebastian Walker, during her time in England.[3]

In 2005, Wen took a one-year leave of absence from medical school to serve as the national president of the American Medical Student Association,[9] where she led campaigns to increase healthcare access, decrease health disparities, and combat conflicts of interest between physicians and the pharmaceutical companies who notoriously use attractive sales representatives and free gifts to influence doctors, especially young interns and medical residents.[16][17] Wen became involved in U.S. and international health policy during medical school, serving in Geneva, Switzerland as a fellow for the World Health Organization and in Rwanda as a fellow for the U.S. Department of Defense.[9] In addition, she advised the U.S. Congress on physician workforce and medical education through her appointment on the Council on Graduate Medical Education by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.[11][18]

Career

Following medical school, Wen completed residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General) and a clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Boston. She is board certified in emergency medicine. She married South Africa native Sebastian Neil Walker in February 2012[3] and started working in emergency medicine at BWH and Mass General before moving to the ER at the George Washington University (GW) in Washington, DC,[15] where she became a professor in emergency and health policy, and the Director of Patient-Centered Care Research.[19] She served as a consultant to the Brookings Institution and the China Medical Board, and conducted international health systems research including in South Africa, Slovenia, Nigeria, Singapore, and China.[20]

Patient advocacy

In 2013, St. Martin's Press published her book, When Doctors Don't Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests.[1] It is about how patients can take control of their health to advocate for better care for themselves.[21][22]

Wen wrote a blog, The Doctor is Listening.[23] She has been a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and Psychology Today on patient empowerment and healthcare reform.[24][25] She has been an advisor to the newly established Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute,[26] and an advisor to the Lown Institute and the Medical Education Futures Study.[27] She is the founder of a Who's My Doctor, an international campaign that calls for transparency in medicine.[28]

Wen is a frequent keynote speaker on healthcare reform, education, and leadership, and has given several TED Talks. Her TED talk on transparency in medicine has been viewed over 1.8 million times.[19][29][30][31]

Baltimore City health commissioner

In December 2014, Wen was appointed by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to serve as the health commissioner; in December 2016, she was reappointed by Mayor Catherine E. Pugh. In this role, she oversees the Baltimore City Health Department, an agency of 1,100 employees and $130 million annual budget with wide-ranging responsibilities including management of acute communicable diseases, animal control, chronic disease prevention, emergency preparedness, food service inspections, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, maternal-child health, school health, senior services, and youth violence issues.

She directed the city's public health recovery efforts after the 2015 Baltimore protests, including ensuring prescription medication access to seniors after the closure of 13 pharmacies and developing the Mental Health/Trauma Recovery Plan, with 24/7 crisis counseling and healing circles and group counseling in schools, community groups, and churches.[32][33] In the wake of the 2015 Baltimore protests, the Baltimore City Health Department team launched numerous campaigns, including a citywide trauma response plan, youth health and wellness strategy, violence prevention programs, B'Healthy in B'More blog, and B'More Health Talks, a biweekly town hall and podcast series on health disparities.[11][34][35][36][37]

In May 2016, she served as the commencement speaker for the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.[38][39] She has also served as commencement speaker at Washington University School of Medicine and at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2017, Wen was named as one of Modern Healthcare's 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders and in 2018 as one of its Top 25 Minority Physician Executives.[40]

In March 2018, on behalf of Wen and Baltimore City Health Department, the City of Baltimore sued the Trump administration for cutting teen pregnancy prevention funds, which resulted in a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to restore $5 million in grant funding to two Baltimore-based teen pregnancy prevention programs.[41] She wrote an opinion editorial criticizing proposed changes to the Title X program which would affect health clinics in Baltimore providing reproductive health care for low income women.[42]

Opioid overdose epidemic response

Wen has led implementation of the Baltimore opioid overdose prevention and response plan, which includes a blanket prescription for the opioid antidote, naloxone; "hotspotting" and street outreach teams to target individuals most at risk; training family/friends on naloxone use; and launching a new public education campaign.[43] Wen testified to the U.S. Senate HELP Committee and U.S. House Oversight Committee on Baltimore's overdose prevention efforts. She led a group of state and city health officials to petition the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on adding black box warnings to opioids and benzodiazepines.[44][45] In March 2016, she was invited by the White House to join President Barack Obama and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta on a panel discussion, where she spoke about Baltimore's response.[46] She convened doctors and public health leaders to sign the Baltimore Statement on the Importance of Childhood Vaccinations[47] and to successfully advocate to ban the sale of powdered alcohol in Maryland and synthetic drugs in Baltimore.[48][49]

Congressman Elijah Cummings cited Wen's efforts to combat the opioid epidemic in Baltimore, and sought her help in creating national legislation to change how the United States fights it.[50]

In 2018, the National Association of County and City Health Officials awarded the Baltimore City Health Department the Local Health Department of the Year.[51]

References

  1. 1 2 Leana S. Wen, M.D., MSc., FAAEM: Health Commissioner, Baltimore City, Baltimore City Health Department, retrieved April 13, 2016
  2. ↑ "About Leana Wen". The GW Medical Faculty Associates. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mallozzi, Vincent (February 12, 2012). "Leana Wen, Sebastian Walker--Weddings". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ Tanner, Lindsay (September 2, 2013). "Forget Marcus Welby: Today's Docs Want a Real Life". AP News. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  5. ↑ Domonoske, Camila (September 12, 2018). "Planned Parenthood Chooses Baltimore's Health Commissioner As Its Next President". NPR.org. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Dr. Leana Wen to Serve as President of Planned Parenthood" (Press release). Planned Parenthood Federation of America. September 12, 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  7. ↑ "美国计划生育机构任命华裔医生担任新领导人". Boxun News (in Chinese). September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  8. ↑ Wen, Leana, "I'm Your Doctor: Total Transparency Manifesto for Leana Wen, M.D.", DrLeanaWen.com, retrieved April 13, 2016
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Wen Takes Rhodes Scholarship for Return to Oxford". November 27, 2006. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  10. ↑ Kristof, Nicholas D. (June 27, 2007), "Sheryl and Sheryle", The New York Times, retrieved September 13, 2018
  11. 1 2 3 4 "The Atlantic: Working a million hours to heal a city". Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  12. 1 2 Zernike, Kate (September 12, 2018). "Planned Parenthood Names Leana Wen, a Doctor, Its New President". The New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 Wen, Leana S. (September 6, 2017). "Leana Wen: an immigrant's story". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  14. ↑ Wen, Leana, "Tribute to My Mother", DrLeanaWen.com, retrieved April 14, 2016
  15. 1 2 Shesgreen, Deirdre (March 6, 2016), "Doctor wants overdose antidote in every medicine cabinet", USA Today
  16. ↑ McDonald, G (November 6, 2005), "Fighting the Freebies", TIME, retrieved January 17, 2013
  17. ↑ Romano, Michael (January 30, 2006), "Fighting graft--it's academic", Modern Healthcare, 36 (5): 8–10, ISSN 0160-7480, PMID 16479773
  18. ↑ Council on Graduate Medical Education staff (2010), Twentieth Report: Advancing Primary Care (PDF), retrieved April 14, 2016
  19. 1 2 "What Your Doctor Won't Disclose". Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Commissioner, to Deliver Graduation Address to University of Maryland School of Medicine's 207th Graduating Class". somvweb.som.umaryland.edu. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  21. ↑ "MacMillan". Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  22. ↑ Wen, Leana (2013). When Doctors Don't Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-59491-7.
  23. ↑ Goldberg, Carey (January 11, 2013). "When Doctors Don't Listen, and Hangover Leads to Spinal Tap". Common Health NPR. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Huffington Post". Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Psychology Today". Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  26. ↑ "PCORI". Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Medical Education Futures". Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Who's My Doctor". Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Wharton Center for Performing Arts at Michigan State University". Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Speaker Testimonials". Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  31. ↑ "Low-Tech Revolution to Healthcare Reform". Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  32. ↑ Wenger, Yvonne (December 15, 2014). "New city health commissioner to wage campaign against substance abuse". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  33. ↑ Wen, Leana (January 15, 2015). "Why I left the ER to run Baltimore's health department". National Public Radio. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Triage and Treatment: Untold Stories from Baltimore's Unrest". Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Unrest in Baltimore: the Role of Public Health". Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Prescription help available as damaged pharmacies remain closed". Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Mental health help for residents affected by turmoil". Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Saying Farewell to the Class of 2016 Graduates". University of Maryland School of Medcicine. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Commencement 2016". Notre Dame of Maryland University. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  40. ↑ "50 most influential Physician Executives and Leaders 2017". Modern Healthcare. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  41. ↑ Duncan, Ian. "Judge orders Trump administration to restore $5M in funding to Baltimore teen pregnancy prevention programs". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  42. ↑ Wen, Leana S. "Trump's family planning dystopia". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  43. ↑ "Don't Die – Get Naloxone. Save a Life". www.dontdie.org. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  44. ↑ "Senate HELP Committee Testimony". Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  45. ↑ Dennis, Brady (February 22, 2016). "Health officials push FDA to add 'black box' warnings about using opioids, benzodiazepines together". Washington Post. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  46. ↑ CNN, Nadia Kounang. "Obama: Addiction is a preventable disease". CNN. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  47. ↑ Wen, Leana; Czinn, Steven; Dover, George (November 12, 2015), "Vaccines are safe, effective and life-saving", The Baltimore Sun
  48. ↑ McDaniels, Andrea K (March 26, 2015), "Health concerns spur ban on powdered alcohol", The Baltimore Sun
  49. ↑ Barnett, Gigi. "New City Law Punishing Stores That Sell Synthetic Drugs". Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  50. ↑ "Forging our National Response to the Opioid Epidemic | Afro". www.afro.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  51. ↑ "Baltimore City Health Department Named Local Health Department of the Year". Baltimore City Health Department. July 17, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
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