Marion County, IN
Marion County received $225,000 through cooperative agreement EH21-2102 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in FY 2022 to cover childhood lead poisoning prevention and surveillance programmatic activities conducted during September 30, 2022 to September 29, 2023.
The strategies focus on community-based approaches for lead hazard elimination and emphasize population-based policy intervention.
To learn more about these efforts in Marion County, contact the program below.
Marion County Public Health Department
Healthy Homes, Environmental Consumer Management and Senior Care Department
3838 N Rural St. 8th Floor
Indianapolis, IN 46205-2930
Phone: 317-221-2155
Greater Partnership Yields Strong Data in Marion County, IN
CDC identifies several risk factors for childhood lead exposure, including living in housing built before 1978, living in low-income households, and being members of racial-ethnic minority groups. Many children in Marion County, Indiana, have these risk factors for lead exposure. However, in Marion County, the rate of lead testing for children ages five and younger is low (approximatively 10%). According to CDC, each lead-poisoned child can cost $5,600 in medical and special education costs. Education on lead poisoning prevention and early detection are important to reduce the potential burden of lead exposure and improve children’s opportunities to reach their full potential.
To increase the percentage of Medicaid-eligible and other children at risk who receive testing, the Healthy Homes, Environmental Consumer Management & Senior Care Department (HHECMSC) implemented a new program to encourage healthcare providers to screen children for lead during well-child visits. HHECMSC purchased educational and marketing materials to help providers and raise awareness within the target populations. The program facilitates the review of primary care physician charts and uses a scorecard to determine the physician compliance rate of children receiving blood lead tests at the recommended ages. The program discovered that the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) provides compliance report cards in other jurisdictions. HHECMSC established a data use agreement with ISDH to regularly review the immunization registry and use ISDH’s report card to evaluate provider compliance.
Sharing information with ISDH will save time and money, as the new program allows HHECMSC to conduct a periodic review of children tested for lead at no additional cost to the organizations.
ISDH and HHECMSC use similar formatting for compliance reports; therefore, future data review will be easier and provide a clearer picture for Marion County and the state of Indiana as ISDH moves to provide compliance reports throughout the state. As a result of this investment, HHECMSC’s return on investment gained a no-cost data collection and compliance reporting system.
Funding for this work was made possible in part by [NUE2EH001361] from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.