I'm focusing on prenatal/perinatal lead exposure and its effects on childhood behavior disorders.
I was really pleased to find out my county DHS office has a lead poisoning prevention program, which is funded by the state. Our Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPP) employs a team of health professionals who provide services and information to families, health care providers, and the public.
The teams consist of: Registered Environmental Specialists, who conduct investigations in homes and determine the source of lead contamination; Public Health Nurses, who work with and educate families on ways to reduce lead contamination; and Health Educators, who conduct health fairs, workshops, and special trainings for the providers and public.
There are two broad services: case management and source identification for lead poisoned children, and outreach/education to the community and targeted groups. The case management service does blood testing on children believed to have lead poisoning and/or is on government assistance. Depending on the blood test results, public health nurses will do routine follow ups or they will visit the home immediately along with an environmental health specialist. The outreach program focuses on provider education and screening environments.
The state lead poisoning prevention program has a multitude of resources for health care providers, lead professionals and public health workers, but it does not receive funding from the CDC, which I found really disappointing. I understand lead poisoning isn't as large of an issue as it used to be or compared to other toxic exposures, but it's because it received so much attention and funding in previous years. I'm going to do a little more digging to find out why the CDC doesn't fund the CDPH.
I was really pleased to find out my county DHS office has a lead poisoning prevention program, which is funded by the state. Our Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPP) employs a team of health professionals who provide services and information to families, health care providers, and the public.
The teams consist of: Registered Environmental Specialists, who conduct investigations in homes and determine the source of lead contamination; Public Health Nurses, who work with and educate families on ways to reduce lead contamination; and Health Educators, who conduct health fairs, workshops, and special trainings for the providers and public.
There are two broad services: case management and source identification for lead poisoned children, and outreach/education to the community and targeted groups. The case management service does blood testing on children believed to have lead poisoning and/or is on government assistance. Depending on the blood test results, public health nurses will do routine follow ups or they will visit the home immediately along with an environmental health specialist. The outreach program focuses on provider education and screening environments.
The state lead poisoning prevention program has a multitude of resources for health care providers, lead professionals and public health workers, but it does not receive funding from the CDC, which I found really disappointing. I understand lead poisoning isn't as large of an issue as it used to be or compared to other toxic exposures, but it's because it received so much attention and funding in previous years. I'm going to do a little more digging to find out why the CDC doesn't fund the CDPH.
I wonder if there is a trend of lead exposure in certain areas in your county. I ask because I'm only aware of lead exposure due to paint in older houses since we've banned lead from gasoline. If there is, it seems to me that all houses in that particular area should be checked. It's disappointing to see that lead exposure is still a public health concern. Any existing lead exposure should be prioritized to eliminate in the public health agenda.
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