Baltimore outlines rapid-response protocol after July mass overdoses; officials urge data sharing

Baltimore officials on Feb. 3 briefed the Senate Finance Committee on a new rapid-response protocol for mass overdose incidents, describing the city’s July operations in Penn North and urging improved data sharing with state and local partners.

Mayor Brandon Scott said the city shifted from a criminal-justice approach to a public-health strategy after taking office and that Baltimore has used nearly $600,000,000 secured through legal actions against pharmaceutical manufacturers to expand prevention and services. "Preliminary data shows overdoses fell more than 20 percent last year," he said, and he credited partnerships and sustained investment for enabling rapid, life-saving responses.

Dr. Michelle Taylor, Baltimore City health commissioner, said the city formalized definitions to guide the response. "We defined a mass overdose as at least 5 overdoses in a 1 to 3 hour period in a small geographic area or single location," Taylor said. The protocol uses a two-tier activation: partial activation for five to 10 overdoses, and full activation for 11 or more, with the health commissioner or their designee responsible for activation.

Chief James Wallace of the Baltimore City Fire Department provided incident-level detail from July 10: first 9:20 a.m. call expanded quickly after multiple reports of unconscious people. "Overall, we transported 27 patients from the scene during this time frame," Wallace said; he classified seven patients as priority 1 (critically ill), 15 as priority 2 and five as priority 3, and stated that, with hospital transports and additional health-department engagements, the incident involved 35 patients and that no lives were lost that day.

Sarah Whaley, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Overdose Response, described sustained community outreach and supply distribution after the event. "Our on scene response involved nearly 500 volunteers from more than 30 organizations," Whaley said. She reported distribution of approximately 4,500 naloxone kits, 2,600 fentanyl test strips, 760 xylazine test strips and 600 hygiene kits and described peers and service coordinators connecting residents to treatment, housing and employment support.

Dr. Taylor said the protocol is built on public-health surveillance and interagency coordination and uses the Incident Command System during partial activations and a unified command structure for full activations. She listed operational changes made after July — ensuring canvassing teams include health department staff identifiable by vests and radios, a tiered notification system for community partners, and clearer coordination with the state behavioral health administration.

Deputy Mayor Leticia DeRaza described the post-acute neighborhood stabilization response the mayor activated on July 11, which included twice-weekly on-site presence, interagency resource events and coordination with public works and housing offices to address environmental and quality-of-life concerns in Penn North. "The goal was really to mitigate trauma, to address the quality of life issues that we saw in the neighborhood, and to support residents," DeRaza said.

Committee members asked about applying Baltimore’s definitions and surveillance approach to smaller or rural jurisdictions. Senator Reedy asked how local health departments without large case volumes should scale definitions. Taylor advised jurisdictions to "start with your data," use local epidemiology to set thresholds and coordinate with EMS and police on naloxone reversals and response frequency.

Vice Chair Hayes pressed whether Maryland Department of Health (MDH) could share information such as a person’s last known address with local health departments to support epidemiology and resource deployment. Taylor said some data is passed to MDH and that data-use agreements and small-count suppression rules can limit public sharing; she said discussions are underway with MDH to expand secure internal sharing. Mayor Scott emphasized the need for information-sharing while protecting personal information.

Officials declined to discuss ongoing criminal-investigation details about the July events. When asked whether authorities identified the specific product involved, Mayor Scott and other presenters said that remains part of an active police investigation and some details cannot be released.

The committee did not take formal action but received the briefing and moved into follow-up discussions about data-sharing mechanisms and operational support. The presenters urged other jurisdictions to adopt proactive surveillance and community partnerships to prepare for similar incidents.

The Senate Finance Committee paused for a short break and resumed its agenda.