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CATHERINE CHAMBERLAIN
Baltimore Medical System
Dr. Catherine Chamberlain, a family physician at Baltimore Medical System Inc., has built her career around patients who often face the steepest barriers to care. She chose to practice at Baltimore Medical System, a federally qualified health center serving diverse communities across Baltimore City, where she embodies the strengths of community-based medicine.
Board-certified in family and addiction medicine, Chamberlain provides comprehensive primary care while leading the organization’s HIV, Hepatitis C and PrEP programs. Her work joins clinical medicine, public health and addiction treatment.
Under her leadership, Baltimore Medical System has strengthened its HIV prevention and treatment efforts, raising its HIV screening rate to 78.4%, well above the national benchmark of 52%, while maintaining a 100% linkage-to-care rate that connects every patient diagnosed with HIV to treatment immediately. As medical director of BD Health Services, an opioid treatment program, she delivers evidence-based care to individuals recovering from substance use disorder, addressing complex medical and social needs with dignity.
Chamberlain’s approach was tested when a long-term patient arrived for routine STI screening and learned the following day of a positive HIV result. The patient experienced overwhelming distress and expressed thoughts of self-harm. Chamberlain assessed the patient’s safety and coordinated her interdisciplinary care team of behavioral health providers and care coordinators, remaining present so the conversation about diagnosis and next steps stayed grounded in clarity. Over nearly two hours, the team stabilized the patient emotionally and arranged immediate care and follow-up. The patient left with a treatment plan, a support system and renewed hope, returning days later calmer and ready to engage, grateful the diagnosis had come from a physician she trusted.
