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Paul Haan, Get the
Lead Out!, October 4, 2005 Issue #7
In this Newsletter:
1) City of Grand Rapids Receives $4 Million HUD Award for Lead
2) Sen. Hardiman in Introduces Bill to Link Lead Test Results to
Immunization Database
3) State Funding for CLP Restored
4) Two Reports Highlight Room for Growth in Testing and Treatment of
CLP
5) American Academy of Pediatrics Updates Guidance on Lead
6) Local Training Opportunities
- Health and Human Service Provider Training
- Lead Safe Work Practices
- Lead 101 for Homeowners
7) State Commission to hold Second Public Hearing on Lead
8) Children's Environmental Health Conference Nov. 3 in Ann Arbor
9) Next Get the Lead Out! Collaborative meeting
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1) City of Grand Rapids Receives $4 Million HUD Award for Lead
Mayor George Heartwell announced a $4 million grant award to the City
of Grand Rapids from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) to fix childhood lead poisoning hazards in 425
additional homes. This award comes on top of nearly $5 million awarded
to the City in late 2003 to launch the local effort to make homes
lead-safe. These combined HUD resources will address lead hazards in
865 homes by 2008.
The announcement was made at 1026 Cooper Avenue SE, where the Holliman
family lives with their three children. Earlier this year, their home
was made lead-safe with $9,850 in repairs; including new windows,
replacement of basement windows, paint chip abatement and interior
door trim replacement.
Get the Lead Out! partners working on this project include the Kent
County Health Department, Home Repair Services, Lighthouse Communities
and the Rental Property Owners Association. Since early 2004, these
partners have eliminated hazards in more than 150 homes where
low-income children under age six reside.
HUD announced 62 awards in 26 states for a total of $139 million. The
Grand Rapids award is the only Lead Hazard Control Grant in the state
of Michigan. The Michigan Department of Community Health is receiving
$989,717 in Healthy Homes funding for an asthma pilot in Ingham
County.
For more information on the City's Lead Hazard Control Program,
contact Doug Stek at
dstek@ci.grand-rapids.mi.us.
2) Sen. Hardiman in Introduces Bill to Link Lead Test Results to
Immunization Database
Senator Bill Hardiman introduced Senate Bill 728 earlier this month.
This bill calls for changes to the Michigan Childhood Immunization
Registry (MCIR) that would, among other things, require that the
results from children's blood lead tests be included. The MCIR is a
protected computerized database that provides health care providers
immediate access to a childs immunization records over the internet.
This legislation is important for ensuring high-risk children are
tested and that follow-up care is given (see next article).
Many local health care providers have been requesting this change so
that they may have immediate access to a child's blood lead test
history regardless of where testing services were provided. Senator
Hardiman introduced the legislation at the request of the Michigan
Association of Health Plans and following ongoing encouragement of Get
the Lead Out!
The bill is currently in front of the Senate Health Policy Committee.
To review the bill text, go to
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2005-2006/billintroduced/senate/pdf/2005-SIB-0728.pdf.
We also encourage you to contact your legislator to let him or her
know the importance of this bill. For more information, contact Paul
Haan at gtlo@sbcglobal.net.
3) State Funding for CLP Restored
Get the Lead Out! is pleased to announce that proposed funding cuts
for childhood lead poisoning prevention activities have been averted,
and that State funding will remain at $1 million for the coming year.
Earlier this year, the Senate proposed a $500,000 reduction in funding
for childhood lead poisoning, a reduction that would have cut in half
the current appropriation.
Michigan Representative Michael Sak held a press conference with Get
the Lead Out! in August to draw attention to the proposed reduction in
State funding for childhood lead poisoning prevention activities. Get
the Lead Out! representatives and partners also met with and contacted
additional legislators to gain their support for overturning the
proposed cuts. Our thanks goes out to all who took the time to
advocate on this issue.
4) Two Reports Highlight Room for Growth in Testing and Treatment
of CLP
Two reports were issued this summer that highlight the need for
ever-increasing diligence in health care providers' efforts to test
and treat children for childhood lead poisoning. While recent progress
has been made to improve testing rates, both reports make
recommendations for improvement. Both reports point out that even when
children are being seen by their primary care provider, some are still
not receiving recommended care.
The first report, printed in the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA), looks specifically at lead testing and treatment
among Medicaid-enrolled children in the State of Michigan. Included in
the report's recommendations are the need to align local practice with
federal guidelines, the need for improved systems for information
sharing among providers (see article #2 above), and ongoing attention
and care for children who are in high risk groups (Medicaid, target
communities with older housing).
The second report released is authored by the Alliance for Healthy
Homes, a national advocacy group based in Washington, DC. Their
report, entitled Stuck In Neutral, looks at national Medicaid testing
rates state-by-state. Michigan falls in the middle of the pack. The
Alliance report calls for putting the CDC in charge of Medicaid lead
testing, state adoption of lead testing strategies proven effective in
other communities (providing managed care with names of children in
need of testing, use of monetary incentives and disincentives, and
reimbursement for testing at WIC sites), and increased federal funding
for the CDC's childhood lead poisoning prevention program.
The JAMA report can be read at
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/293/18/2232. The Alliance
report can be read at
http://www.afhh.org/res/res_pubs/stuck_in_neutral_082605.pdf.
5) American Academy of Pediatrics Updates Guidance on Lead
For the first time since 1998, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
has updated its Policy Statement on lead exposure in children. An
abstract in the October 2005 issue of Pediatrics (the official journal
of the AAP) reports that "Evidence continues to accrue that commonly
encountered blood lead concentrations, even those less than 10 µg/dL,
may impair cognition, and there is no threshold yet identified for
this effect. Most US children are at sufficient risk that they should
have their blood lead concentration measured at least once."
The new guidance recognizes recent research demonstrating the negative
impact of low levels of blood lead on cognitive development recommends
a shift in policy focus "from case identification and management to
primary prevention, with a goal of safe housing for all children." The
statement makes seven recommendations for pediatricians and eight
regarding government policy.
To read the new Policy Statement in full, go to
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/116/4/1036.
6) Local Training Opportunities
Please feel free to announce these opportunities to your constituents
or in your organization's newsletter.
Health and Human Service Provider Training - Training in childhood
lead poisoning prevention and orientation to available resources is
being offered by Michigan Family Resources on the following dates:
- Thursday, October 13 from 8:15am - Noon @ 2626 Walker Ave NW.
- Thursday, November 10 from 8:15am - Noon @ 2626 Walker Ave NW.
- Thursday, December 8 from 8:15am - Noon @ 2626 Walker Ave NW.
To register for any of these training dates, contact Sue Sipkema at
(616) 453-4145 x282 or
ssipkema@michiganfamilyresources.org.
Lead Safe Work Practices - This 8-hour, EPA approved curriculum
teaches homeowners, landlords, maintenance staff, and remodelers how
to work lead-safe.
Home Repair Services' next class will be offered October 20 and 27 at
6:00pm at 10:00 South Division in Grand Rapids. Participants must
attend both evenings. There is no cost for this training, but
registration is required. Contact Richard Ten Hoor at 241-2601 x236 or
rtenhoor@homerepairservices.org. Priority will be given to
homeowners and Grand Rapids landlords. An additional training will
also be scheduled in November, but dates are unavailable as of this
writing. Please contact Richard for dates.
The Neighborhood Investment Corporation (NIC) in Muskegon will be
hosting the National Paint and Coatings Association's traveling LSWP
training November 3. The training is conducted by MasiMax
Environmental Health and Safety Services and will be held at the NIC
offices, 1115 Third Street in Muskegon. Training times are 7:45am
until 4:00pm. The training is free and registration is required. To
register, contact Chip Vanderwier at (231) 727-0809 or register online
at www.leadsafetraining.org.
Lead 101 for Homeowners - Home Repair Services also offers an
introductory class on low-cost interim controls and maintaining a
lead-safe home for homeowners. This two hour class is free and is
being offered three more times in October. All classes are held at
1100 South Division. Register by contacting Richard Ten Hoor at
241-2601 x236 or
rtenhoor@homerepairservices.org.
- Tuesday, October 11, from 3:00 - 5:00pm
- Tuesday, October 18, from 3:00 - 5:00pm
- Tuesday, October 25, from 4:00 - 6:00pm
7) State Commission to Hold Second Public Hearing on Lead
The second hearing of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and
Control Commission is scheduled for Monday, October 24 from 1:00 -
5:00pm at the Harris Auditorium, 1101 Beach Street in Flint. To learn
more about the Commission and its activities, go to
http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-2940_2955_2983-76907--,00.html.
If you would like more information about the hearing or if you would
like to testify, contact Donna Strugar-Fritsch at
DStrugarfritsch@healthmanagement.com.
8) Children's Environmental Health Conference Nov. 3 in Ann Arbor
Out of Harm’s Way: Preventing Toxic Threats to Child Development in
Michigan is the name of a Thursday, November 3 conference at the
University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School in Ann Arbor. The
conference is being sponsored by the Michigan Chapter of American
Academy of Pediatrics, Michigan State Medical Society, Ecology Center,
Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, and a host of
others.
This day-long conference will focus on the intersection between
exposure to common environmental chemicals and childhood development,
and clinical interventions to reduce neurotoxic threats throughout the
lifecycle. Special emphasis will be placed on heavy metals and their
effects, persistent organic compounds such as pesticides, and how
children are uniquely different from adults in terms of toxicity.
Check-in and continental breakfast begin at 7:00am, program begins at
8:00am. Conference ends at 4:45pm, with informal reception to follow.
Conference fees are as follows: $100 for physicians (CME available),
$50 for public health professionals, educators, developmental
disabilities specialists, psychologists, community health workers, and
$25 for students and resident physicians. Fee includes extensive
resource binder.
To learn more and view a list of conference presenters, go to:
http://www.miaap.org/events-detail.asp?id=19. To register, contact
Lauren Zajac at
lauren@ecocenter.org.
9) Next Get the Lead Out! Collaborative meeting
The date of the next Get the Lead Out! collaborative meeting is
Wednesday, November 2. The meeting will be 3:00 - 5:00pm at the Baxter
Community Center. As always, guests are welcome to attend and learn
more.
To receive collaborative meeting agenda packets via email, contact
gtlo@sbcglobal.net.
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Paul Haan
Get the Lead Out!
"Preventing Childhood Lead Poisoning through Partnership"
Community Leadership Institute, Aquinas College
1607 Robinson Road SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
phone: 616.241.3300
fax: 616.732.4585
email: GTLO@sbcglobal.net
www.cliaquinas.org
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