FLINT, Mich. – Three members from the Flint Registry team are currently at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Training Center conference in Minneapolis, Minn. This training teaches strategies to conduct lead elimination, develop and maintain strategic partnerships, and improve connections to care.
Attending the CDC training, Janée Rankin, Flint Registry Director of Outreach with partner organization Greater Flint Health Coalition says, “As a Flint resident, I am so excited to attend this conference. We are determined to learn and implement best practices and to set Flint on a path not only toward recovery, but excellence.”
The three participants at the CDC training session are part of the “Flint Lead Free,” a work group that was recently launched to accomplish this multi-sector work. With a goal to eliminate lead exposure in Flint by 2022, Flint Lead Free will identify lead-related programming and trainings, determine target audiences for training, and create a lead elimination report. Flint Lead Free includes more than 30 members from a variety of public, governmental, and private organizations.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, associate professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine said, “Flint has brightly spotlighted the ongoing national issue of lead poisoning. Recognizing that there is no safe level of lead, it is backwards to use children as detectors of environmental lead exposure. We need to take action when we detect lead in our environment. Flint Lead Free once again shines a light on Flint with our model approach to proactively protect the potential of all our children.”
The goal of the Flint Registry is to identify individuals exposed to the Flint water crisis and connect them to resources aimed at minimizing the effects of lead on their health, while promoting wellness and recovery. One of the registry’s goals is to assess for ongoing lead exposure and refer participants to lead elimination resources. Pre-enrollment for the Flint Registry is in progress. For further information, visit flintregistry.org.
Flint is uniquely positioned to eliminate lead exposure because of a confluence of new resources and raised awareness. Once pipe replacement is complete in 2020, Flint will only be the third city in the nation to replace their lead pipes. In addition, Flint has priority funding from the MDHHS Lead Safe Home Program to provide free home inspection and abatement for eligible families. The Lead Safe Home Program is the first Medicaid-funded program in the nation focused on primary prevention – identifying and eliminating lead before a child is exposed.
“Despite Flint’s ongoing crisis and national efforts to weaken public health protections, I am proud of Flint for leading the nation to eliminate lead from homes,” Congressman Kildee said. “In Congress, I brought Republicans and Democrats together to fund this registry, which will connect Flint residents with the health resources they need and help reduce and prevent lead exposure nationwide. There is no safe level of lead, and I am proud of the ‘Flint Lead Free’ work group that is working with a variety of stakeholders to create a lead-free community.”
# # #
About the Flint Water Crisis and Flint Registry
Flint switched its drinking water source from the Great Lakes to the Flint River in April 2014 without proper corrosion control treatment. The city returned to Great Lakes treated water in October 2015 after testing detected increased lead levels in residential water and then in children’s blood. According to the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), lead exposure can damage the brain and nervous system; slow growth and development; contribute to learning, behavior, hearing and speech problems. There is no known safe level of lead in children; even very low levels of lead can result in adverse effects.
In August 2017, Michigan State University received $3.2M, the first installment of a 4-year, $14.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop the registry in collaboration with leadership from the City of Flint, Greater Flint Health Coalition, educators, clinicians, community-based organizations and Flint residents. The Flint Registry is part of the Centers for Disease Control’s ongoing efforts across the country to reduce and prevent exposure to lead as part of its Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program.
In addition to linking people to supportive programs and resources, the registry will document the effects on residents affected by lead-tainted tap water and evaluate the effectiveness of health, educational, environmental and community services on improving the health of participants. Everyone who was exposed to the Flint water is eligible for the Flint Registry. The Flint Registry will begin enrollment this fall; pre-enrollment is live now.
For more information, to get involved and/or to pre-enroll, visit flintregistry.org, email flintregistry@hc.msu.edu, or call (833) GO-FLINT.