Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Eric D. Hargan, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health Matthew Lin traveled to Baltimore on Friday to meet with city officials and community leaders to learn firsthand how the Department can better empower those on the front lines of America’s pressing public health challenges.

While in Baltimore, Acting Secretary Hargan and HHS officials were able to tour local facilities and participate in roundtables with leaders from the Baltimore City Health Department; Health Care for the Homeless, a federally qualified community health center; and Bon Secours Hospital. At these three locations, they engaged in dialogue and exchanged ideas with medical experts, local leaders and individuals receiving treatment or recovering from various conditions, including opioid addiction, on a variety of issues such as reducing health disparities, treatment of serious mental illness, and the opioid epidemic.

The visits were a part of an ongoing effort by HHS to reaffirm the Trump administration’s commitment to combating the opioid epidemic and engaging with local communities on efforts to address the nation’s healthcare challenges.