Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) and The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) Announce Release of New Videos on Lead Poisoning Prevention
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Alex Bodaken, 443.687.7303
May 12, 2017
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) and The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) Announce Release of New Videos on Lead Poisoning Prevention
Videos highlight best practices for parents and providers in Maryland to manage and reduce the risk of childhood lead poisoning
Baltimore, MD—The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) and The Green & Healthy Initiative (GHHI) have released two new videos on best practices for lead poisoning prevention and treatment. The videos are both targeted to specific audiences: one video provides information and resources to parents of young children, while the other focuses on providers and health professionals in Maryland.
The videos feature parents, providers, and community partners from around the state, and are designed to raise awareness of the updated lead screening and testing guidelines in Maryland. Health and Mental Hygiene strengthened these guidelines in March 2016 to gather additional data on the changing profile of lead poisoning in the state.
“Maryland’s State agencies are working together with community partners to identify more children who have been exposed to lead and to prevent lead exposures from happening in the future,” said Dr. Clifford Mitchell, director of the DHMH Environmental Health Bureau. “These videos will help parents and health care providers in their efforts to keep their children safe from the harmful effects of lead.”
The videos come as a result of a longstanding partnership between DHMH and GHHI, with both organizations working in tandem for years to reduce the incidences of lead poisoning in Maryland. “While we are proud of the work that has been done to reduce lead poisoning in Maryland, including a 98% reduction in children testing positive for elevated blood levels since 1994, we will not rest until 100% of children in Maryland are safe from the risks of lead,” said Ruth Ann Norton, President & CEO of GHHI. “These videos, and our continued partnership with DHMH, will equip parents and providers with valuable information and resources to help further reduce the risk of lead poisoning in the state.”
Going forward, both DHMH and GHHI will use these videos as part of a comprehensive outreach effort to inform and educate parents and professionals alike about the continued risk of lead poisoning. Organizations interested in participating in a training with a GHHI professional to better understand the risks of lead poisoning should contact Alex Bodaken, Program Associate for Special Initiatives at GHHI, at abodaken@ghhi.org or (443)-687-7303.
About the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Maryland’s health care delivery system consists of public and private hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, home health care services, hospices, providers, and health educators, among others. As a public health department, DHMH’s goal is to improve the health status of every Maryland resident and to ensure access to quality health care. DHMH is responsible for helping each person live a life free from the threat of communicable diseases, tainted foods, and dangerous products. To assist in their mission, they regulate health care providers, facilities, and organizations, and manage direct services to patients, where appropriate. To learn more, please visit www.dhmh.state.md.us/ and follow them @MarylandDHMH.
About the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) is a national nonprofit dedicated to breaking the link between unhealthy housing and unhealthy families. Formerly known as the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, GHHI provides evidence-based direct services and technical assistance to create healthy, safe, and energy efficient homes. GHHI’s end goal is to improve health, economic, and social outcomes for low-income families while reducing public and private healthcare costs. To learn more, please visit www.ghhi.org and follow them @HealthyHousing.
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Acknowledgements
DHMH and GHHI would like to acknowledge and thank the many partners necessary to produce these films. Joy Moore and Shana Boscak shared their experiences as parents of lead-poisoned children. Dr. Paul Rogers and his staff at Bright Oaks Medical Center, Barbara Moore, Tamara Aviles, Sarah Beale, Dayna Jones, and others at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, and Dr. Sonia Fierro-Luperini all provided valuable medical expertise for the videos. Camille Burke gave insight into the practices of health departments in Maryland. Finally, Michael Pollak, Christa Geno, C2C Media Group and TenNineThirty Creative were invaluable partners in scripting, producing, and editing the videos to completion.