The Asthma and Lead Poisoning Prevention program provides environmental case management and in-home education with the aim of reducing the impact of lead poisoning and asthma on low-income children. Education, care coordination, lead testing by appointment (with a current doctor’s order) and home-visiting services available.
Hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Amber Bell, RN, at (410) 901-8163, or Michelle Hughes, RN, at (410) 901-8157.
Asthma
Asthma is a chronic (long term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning.
Asthma causes absence from school, increased medical costs, irreversible lung damage without treatment, and death.
Lead Poisoning
Lead is a naturally occurring element and can be found in the air, the soil, the water, and even inside of homes. Lead is particularly dangerous to children because their bodies absorb more lead than adults do and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead.
Learn more about sources of lead exposure in the home, at school, in products, in drinking water, air, soil, and dust at the Environmental Protection Agency’s lead website.
Additional Information & Resources:
- Maryland Department of Health Lead Prevention
- CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
- 5 Things You Can Do To Help Lower Your Child’s Lead Level
Babies that are put to sleep in an unsafe sleep environment are at risk of dying from a sleep-related death every time they go to sleep. Babies die every year from being placed in adult beds, on couches, in car seats, and other unapproved surfaces when they go to sleep.
These deaths are preventable when parents, grandparents, and other caregivers make sure to put their babies to sleep:
- Alone
- On Their Back
- In a Crib
- In a Smoke-Free Environment
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that we share our rooms and not our beds until our babies are one year of age. By following these simple steps, we can protect our babies and keep them safe while they sleep.
DHCD Services:
- Safe Sleep training for organizations, childcare centers, or community groups that interact with pregnant women, mothers with infants under 1 year of age, or care for infants under 1 year of age.
- Individual education and outreach
Educational Materials and Resources for New Parents:
- Safe Sleep Statistics (English)
- Safe Sleep Statistics (Spanish)
- Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding
- Safe to Sleep Website
- Charlie’s Kids Foundation
- Cribs for Kids (provides cribs to babies and educate mothers about the dangers of unsafe-sleep environments)
- The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Getting your child vaccinated against common, serious illnesses is one of the best things you can do to make sure your child grows up healthy. We operate a childhood immunizations program that can help you make sure your child is protected.
Vaccinations are by appointment only. For more information, please contact Ashlea Foxwell, RN, at 410-901-8183 or Shelia Uncapher, RN, at 410-901-8170.
Parent-Friendly Vaccine Schedule for Children, Birth through 6 Years:
Parent-Friendly Vaccine Schedule for Preteens and Teens, 7-18 Years: