In April 2017, Brandy McGhee holds her two-year-old son Karlton as Sue Taylor pricks his finer to test lead levels in his blood at the Near Northwest Neighborhood Community Center. Staff file photo by Michael Caterina
SOUTH BEND — Physicians and medical providers have tested more than twice as many children in St. Joseph County for lead so far this year compared with the same period last year.
That's a sign they've heeded the call of the St. Joseph County Health Department, which wants more kids tested to tackle a stubborn problem with lead-poisoned kids.
And test results reinforce what officials have already known: The problem is mainly confined to parts of South Bend where old homes with lead-based paint are concentrated.
From January through March of this year, children under age 7 tested for lead in the county increased from about 500 to 1,100 compared to the same period last year. That's according to the most recent data from the health department.
While the department has pushed to get the word out for physicians to increase testing, The Tribune has documented the area's problem for months.
"I think the increase in testing is from a combination of the word getting out and us bugging providers about it," said Nick Molchan, the health department's administrator.
Officials have largely blamed the problem in South Bend on lead-based paint in old homes — not drinking water, which has been tested as clean. Lead can damage the developing brains of kids, causing lower IQ points and behavior problems.
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