Receives $1 million, Five-year Grant, from New York State Department of Health

Model Protocol to Identify Contamination before Child Becomes Lead Poisoned

New York City, NY - (February 7, 2008) -- The Lead Poisoning Treatment and Prevention Program at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) has been named one of three State Regional Resource Centers to work with the state to provide regional healthcare delivery for children and pregnant women with elevated blood lead levels.

It will serve as the only center in the Greater New York City Metropolitan Area and surrounding "downstate" counties.  The other two Resource Centers are located in Buffalo and Syracuse.

In addition, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has awarded the program a $1 million, five-year grant to help fund the lead poisoning prevention program.

"This new grant will strengthen and substantially extend our clinical and community outreach efforts in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of childhood lead poisoning," said John Rosen, MD, Lead Program Director.  "We are particularly pleased that the NYSDOH has shown confidence in what we are accomplishing by continuing our funding, with this new initiative, for another five years."

"This funding will allow us to implement a new dust wipe protocol in high incidence targeted geographical areas where we can identify contaminated homes before a child becomes lead poisoned," Dr. Rosen said.  "We plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of this primary prevention approach and replicate it throughout the state."
In its award notification letter, the NYSDOH said of Montefiore's lead prevention effort,  "Your program offers the potential to ... assist NYSDOH in the elimination of lead poisoning by 2010."

 Westchester; and a care management organization providing services to 179,000 health plan members.
The medical center is ranked by the prestigious Leapfrog Group among the top one percent of all U.S. hospitals based on its strategic investments in sophisticated and integrated healthcare technology.
Montefiore's distinguished centers of excellence include cardiology and cardiac surgery, cancer care, tissue and organ transplantation, children's health, women's health, surgery and the surgical subspecialties.  Montefiore is a national leader in the treatment of diabetes, headaches, obesity, cough and sleep disorders, geriatrics and geriatric psychiatry, neurology and neurosurgery, adolescent and family medicine, HIV/AIDS and social and environmental medicine, among many other specialties.
For more information, please visit our website www.montefiore.org or www.montekinds.org

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5/2/08