Flint registry to track residents affected by lead-tainted water

Data gathered will guide healthcare decisions for years, says HHS Secretary Tom Price.


Michigan State University will receive an initial $3.2 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to begin building a registry of residents in Flint, Mich., who were exposed to lead-contaminated water in 2014 and 2015.

The university and the MSU-Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative will lead the registry development program.

The funds are the first part of a four-year, $14.4 million grant that MSU and Flint will share with a range of community organizations, clinicians, schools and other stakeholders serving affected residents.

Information gathered in the registry will support addressing lead-related exposure, monitoring of resident health outcomes and how to expand efforts to eliminate the lead.

Also See: Hurley Medical’s EHR analysis is playing a key role in Flint’s water crisis

“Flint residents will benefit from having their health monitored over time and from being readily connected to services that will help reduce the health effects of lead exposure,” Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said in a statement. “Information collected by the registry will guide important health decisions and recommendations for the City of Flint and the State of Michigan for years to come.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will assist the effort by using its experience with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program to ensure the registry meets the needs of residents.

Additionally, funds from the 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act will support the collection of baseline data and follow-up monitoring of Flint residents.

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