Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Announces Lead Free Lancaster: A Transformative $50M Investment in Protecting Lancaster Children From Lead Poisoning

Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Announces Lead Free Lancaster: A Transformative $50M Investment in Protecting Lancaster Children From Lead Poisoning

August 23, 2021 – The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) commends the commitment of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health to eliminating lead poisoning for Lancaster children and families. The health system has announced a $50 million investment in a comprehensive program to end childhood lead poisoning in Lancaster County, Lead Free Lancaster. Lead Free Lancaster will provide residential lead inspections and lead hazard remediation for thousands of families and homes county-wide, paired with support for increased blood lead testing, public health education and supports for families of children with elevated blood lead levels.

This seminal project, a national model for anchor healthcare institutions seeking to invest in occupied housing as a means of improving the trajectory of young children, will support improved health, social and economic outcomes at the community level. The project will support children arriving in school ready to learn and achieving their academic potential, open pathways to meaningful, well-paid careers in the healthy homes sector, and support locally-owned small businesses. Read the Press Release by Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health to learn more about this unprecedented commitment to eliminating childhood lead poisoning in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Press Release

LEAD FREE lancaster INITIATIVE LAUNCH EVENT VIDEO

As an integral partner in this work, GHHI was delighted to work with LG Health to advance national best practices in the creation of a lead poisoning prevention initiative designed to meet the unique needs of Lancaster families. We will continue our deep support of Lead Free Lancaster – harnessing our decades of experience serving families to manage the identification and remediation of lead in the homes of Lead Free Lancaster families.

The toxic legacy of lead poisoning has devastated our communities for far too long, robbing vulnerable children of their full potential and deepening racial and health inequities. LG Health’s investment in lead poisoning prevention as a social determinant of health will make a transformative impact on the future of Lancaster’s children, and create a national model for health systems in their commitment to housing as a platform for health and wellbeing. I would also like to thank our team, Catherine Klinger, Jamal Lewis, Kelsey McClain, Annie Summers and Wes Stewart, for the work they have done getting us to this milestone. We look forward to our work with LG Health over the next decade. Together, we will ensure that Lancaster children have the opportunity to grow up healthy and safe at home.

Sincerely,

Ruth Ann Norton, President and CEO

About the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative

Founded in 1986 as Parents Against Lead, the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative is one of the nation’s most influential leaders in advancing policies, practices and programs to create healthy, safe and energy efficient homes in America’s lowest income communities. Through its work to create healthier housing, GHHI focuses on addressing the social determinants of health and racial and health equity to give every child and family the opportunity to reach their full potential. To learn more, please visit www.ghhi.org and follow us at: @HealthyHousing