Viewpoint: St. Joe County's lead poisoning problem threatens our children’s future.
The Lead Affinity Group is a community coalition comprised of passionate, dedicated civil servants, health providers, educators, researchers and community leaders. The coalition was formed in 2017 to address the significant lead poisoning problem in St. Joseph County. In February 2017, the South Bend Tribune published a bombshell article entitled: "South Bend’s stubborn lead problem." We learned very quickly that (a) lead is toxic, especially to very young children, and affects every organ in the body, (b) there were few resources to help people who were at risk of lead poisoning, (c) community members had little understanding of this problem, (d) the health care system largely overlooked this problem, and most awful, (e) the rate of lead poisoning among children under 7 in some parts of SJC exceeded the rate of lead poisoning in Flint, Mich.
During the past six years, the Lead Affinity Group has met monthly to address this problem, bring awareness and resources and serve as advocates for those at risk of lead poisoning. The problem of lead poisoning was found to be very complex because it is addressed by so many different branches of government, social services and health care, and coordination is lacking. We have spent a great deal of time understanding the intricate web of services and have sought and supported new community resources and impactful policies. As a result, this coalition has raised awareness, improved coordination and communication, advocated for new funding and staff positions and supported the development of new local and state policies.
In the past year, two incredibly important policy changes occurred to address lead poisoning: (a) to increase blood lead testing among children (House Enrolled Act 1313; Effective date: January 2023) and (b) to expand case management of children who have been lead poisoned (Indiana Department of Health; effective date: July 2022).
HEA 1313 states that health care providers must verify that children under the age of 7 have been tested for lead, and if not, to offer this testing, and test all 1- and 2-year olds for lead. Each year SJC has 4,000 births. If all the 1- and 2-year olds were tested, then our testing goal would be 8,000 tests per year. During the past three years, 2,400 1- and 2-year olds have been tested each year. This is just 30% of our goal.
Childhood blood lead testing must become a routine part of childhood care. The health care system will need to make modifications to ensure they are adhering to this new law much in the same way they implement and adhere to childhood immunization schedules.
Parents, grandparents and caregivers can be advocates for their child’s health care by asking for a blood lead test at their child’s wellness appointments, for all children under the age of 7, but especially important under the age of 3.
The Indiana Department of Health lowered the threshold at which case management is initiated by local Health Departments in half from blood lead test results of 10ug/dL (micrograms per deciliter) to 5ug/dL. This exponential impact will be dramatic; early data suggests that the number of children who will need case management will increase fourfold.
There are many area organizations working to provide a response to reduce lead poisoning:
∙ The city of South Bend has a Lead Remediation Grant Program that provides funding for income qualified families including landlords to help make homes lead safe. About 80% of homes in St. Joseph County were built before 1974 and are likely to have lead in the home.
∙ The St. Joseph County Health Department provides case management to children who have lead poisoning which includes: nursing support and a lead risk assessment to help determine the source of lead in the home. The Health Department also offers support to families whose children’s blood lead level is higher than zero, but does not meet the case management threshold. This response includes support from community health workers.
∙ The University of Notre Dame’s Lead Innovation Team has developed a lead screening kit to help families identify hotspots of lead in their home environment. The kit results provide important information for families to begin the process of making their homes lead safe.
Lead poisoning is a scourge on our community and continues to be a relentless danger to our children’s health and future. But we have new opportunities to change this trajectory for our children. The Lead Affinity Group will be conducting community presentations this fall to raise awareness and education. If you are interested in having a presentation conducted for your organization, company or community group, contact Kathy Schuth (nnndirector@nearnorthwest.org) and Heidi Beidinger-Burnett (hbeiding@nd.edu).
We must work together to end this dangerous legacy of lead and create a bright future that is lead free!
Heidi Beidinger-Burnett, Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, and Kathy Schuth, Near Northwest Neighborhood, are co-founders of the St. Joseph County Lead Affinity Group.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joe County's lead poisoning problem persists
