What is my responsibility as a health care provider for lead testing children in NYS?
Under NYS Public Health Law and Regulations, health care providers are required to screen with a blood lead test all children at or around age one year and again at or around age two years. Health care providers are also required to do a lead risk assessment at least annually for all children up to age six years and test all children found to be at risk for lead exposure. If you send children to an outside laboratory for blood lead testing, it is important to follow up with the parents/caregivers if you do not receive blood lead level results from the laboratory. The purpose of routine lead screening is to identify children who have elevated blood lead levels, and to implement appropriate follow-up. While children can be exposed to lead from a number of possible sources, lead dust and paint chips from deteriorating lead paint are still the leading source of childhood lead poisoning in NYS. New York State has the largest number and proportion of old housing in the entire nation. Childre
