On November 15, 2024, the Public Health Council of the Upper Valley (PHC) Board of Directors held their annual meeting at Hypertherm with 54 community members and public health advocates in attendance.

During the business portion of the meeting, Bise Wood Saint Eugene, of Lebanon, was elected to serve a 3-year term on the Board. Suellen Griffin was elected to serve as Board Chair for 2025, taking the reins from W. Brett Mayfield, who steps aside after 2 years in the role.

2024 Public Health Hall of Fame Awards

Each year, the PHC Board of Directors also solicits nominations for our Public Health Hall of Fame Award. This year, we celebrated the noteworthy work of two Upper Valley institutions: Community Nurse Connections and the Upper Valley Medical Reserve Corp.

Board Chair Brett Mayfield presents Kristin Barnum with the award as CNC Board Members, Laurie Harding and Don Kollisch, look on.

Community Nurse Connections: Under the capable leadership of Kristin Barnum, CNC advocates for and supports a growing network of Community Nurses who care for people, especially older adults, who struggle to live on their own, and who are not accessing needed services. Kristin plays a critical role in guiding communities interested in Community Nursing and collaborating with health care organizations to help them understand the role of the nurse. CNC also helps sustain Community Nursing through a robust documentation system and structured mutual support for Community Nurses. CNC understands vulnerable people are falling through the cracks of our health care system and works tirelessly to fill the need.

Misha McNabb, MRC Unit Leader from the Vermont Department of Health — WRJ District, accepts the Public Health Hall of Fame Award from Brett Mayfield, PHC Board Chair and UVMRC Member.

Upper Valley Medical Reserve Corps: The award was given in recognition of our region’s MRC Unit 1776, formed in 2008, which includes more than 150 medical and non-medical volunteers. This rare bistate MRC Unit is led by coordinators from the Vermont Department of Health – Springfield, Vermont Department of Health – WRJ, and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center Population Health. From Tropical Storm Irene to the COVID-19 pandemic to recent flooding events, the UV MRC has supported regional emergency response capacity. The unit also promotes community health through event support at vaccination clinics, road races, fairs, and training such as Stop the Bleed, Be Bright at Night, and Narcan administration education. In these activities, the UV MRC builds resilience in our communities to buffer the effects of the health threats we all face.

A Regional Vision for Public Health

The meeting included a panel presentation exploring ways to build a more regional approach to public health. Panelists included Shaun Mulholland, Lebanon City Manager; Leigh Hayes, Chief Building Official and Health Officer, City of Lebanon; Heather Rigney, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator/Medical Reserve Corps Statewide Coordinator, Vermont Department of Health; Elizabeth Austin, Executive Director, Good Neighbor Health Clinic/Red Logan Dental Clinic; and Alice Ely, Public Health Council.

PHC is our region’s trusted leader in public health, supporting the people, professionals, and organizations who, together, make our communities healthier places to live, work, and play. Our mission is to improve the health of all Upper Valley residents.

2025 Schedule of Meetings Begins January 17

The next meeting of the Public Health Council is Friday, January 17, 2025, from 9:00 to 11:00 am. The meeting will be virtual. The agenda and login information can be found on the PHC website at www.uvpublichealth.org. All meetings are open to the public.

The Greater Upper Valley Integrated Services Team (GUVIST) has recently convened a Lead Poisoning Prevention Network to explore ways to reduce the risk of lead poisoning in the Upper Valley.  Membership includes representatives from the Public Health Council of the Upper Valley, the Vermont Department of Health (VDH), The Vermont and New Hampshire WIC Programs, Little Rivers Health Care, Gifford Health Care, the NH Lead Prevention Program, Vermont’s Healthy Homes Program, and the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP). 

Lead Exposure is Dangerous at Any Level

Lead is a dangerous metal, especially when ingested by children, and there is no safe level of lead in the body.  Though lead paint was banned in 1978, the most common childhood exposure to lead in the United States remains from old peeling paint, paint dust, and contaminated soil, since toddlers are quick to put objects in their mouths.  Occasionally, lead is detected in imported foods and children’s toys, like in a recent scare regarding lead found in some cinnamon products.  Lead can also contaminate drinking water through plumbing systems containing lead pipes, solders, and fittings. 

Children aged 1 and 2 years old are required to be tested for lead by both Vermont and New Hampshire law.  Testing can be by a finger prick for blood or drawing blood from a vein.  

Too Many Children Go Untested

2022 data from the Vermont Department of Health for the 22 towns of the White River Junction District revealed a concerning 29% of children tested positive for some amount of lead in their blood.  Nearly 1 in 13 Upper Valley children have lead levels high enough (over 3.5 micrograms per deciliter) for VDH to offer home visits to families to investigate for sources of lead. Still, about 1 in 8 of our region’s 1- and 2-year-olds (more than 70 children) remain untested for lead.

Lead poisoning can have serious consequences for health.  Very high levels can severely damage the brain causing coma, convulsions, and even death.  In 2000, a two-year old child in Manchester, NH died from exposure to peeling paint from her apartment’s porch.  Lower levels of lead can permanently affect children’s brain development, resulting in lower IQ scores, learning problems, short attention spans, behavior problems, and poor school performance.  Lead exposure during pregnancy can cross from mother to the developing baby and cause reduced fetal growth and premature birth.

How We Prevent the Harms of Lead Poisoning

Early actions of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Network included a summer college intern from the University of Vermont working with area medical practices to optimize lead testing and result reporting.

There is treatment for severe lead poisoning called chelation therapy using medications that bind the lead so it can be excreted from the body, though the damage to the brain and vital organs is not reparable.  There are also some simple precautions our community can take to help protect from lead exposure before harm is done.

This includes efforts like: 

• ensuring parents and medical providers overcome barriers to testing all children at age 1 and 2 
• removing lead-containing items from the home, including lead paint, which requires specialized certification and equipment
• painting over old paint and installing plastic bite-guards to windowsills to help keep lead away from toddlers 
• removing lead from drinking water – several years ago, the Vermont Department of Health assisted schools and childcare facilities to test drinking water sources and replace faucets or plumbing if these were found to be sources of contamination 
• supporting federal and state policies which help ban lead in common products such as paint, gasoline, ammunition, wheel weights, and fishing weights, and improve workplace safety for workers who work with lead

Taking the Next Steps

In the coming months, the GUVIST Lead Poisoning Prevention Network will take a multifaceted approach to strengthen prevention efforts across the border: streamlining communication between clinics and state registries for accurate reporting, expanding our network to partners with wide reaches such as town leaders and schools, lowering barriers to testing so parents can make well informed decisions for their child, and supporting providers with best practices around lead testing. All of these efforts will continue to increase testing rates, raise awareness of the importance of lead testing, and explore ways for communities to make the home environment safer. With a collective approach to lead poisoning prevention, our partners will make an impact in getting the lead out of our kids.