Community Health Needs Assessment These immunization rates fall short of the Healthy People 2020 target of 80% for “increasing the proportion of children aged 19 to 35 months who receive the recommended doses of DTaP, polio, MMR, Hib, hepatitis B, varicella and PCV vaccines” (IID-8). The Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts’ immunizations program worksto reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with vaccine–preventable diseases for all residents in the Health District. Vaccines are provided to adults and children following the guidelines set forth by the Advisory Committee in Immunization Practices (ACIP). The Health Department is a participant in the Virginia Vaccines for Children program and provides school vaccines to children through age 18 at no charge. It also participate in the Virginia Immunization Information System, which allows the sharing of immunization information with other providers. Local health departments collect data annually by conducting a random sampling of immunization records in daycares and schools (CoCASA). In addition to on-site immunization clinics, an immunization team provides many off-site community vaccination opportunities for flu, pneumonia, Tdap and school vaccines. To do this, it partners with a variety of community members and hold events across the community including at schools, local businesses, churches, local malls, community-based agencies, health fairs and housing developments. In 2011, the immunization program served 8,682 residents.140 Childhood lead exposure remains a major environmental health concern in the United States. Those most vulnerable to lead exposure are children ages 1 to 5 years of age who are lowincome and/or Medicaid-enrolled, non-Hispanic African Americans, and those who live in older housing where lead-based paint is a concern.141 In the Roanoke MSA, portions of Botetourt and Craig counties and the city of Roanoke (including the southeast MUA and parts of the northwest MUA) are considered high-risk areas by zip code for lead poisoning. In Virginia, the Virginia Department of Health’s Lead-Safe Virginia Program is working to eradicate lead toxicity in children through a campaign to increase awareness of lead poisoning and promote testing. In all localities in the Roanoke MSA, except for the city of Salem, the Elevated Blood Lead Levels (EBLL) testing rates for children under 36 months were lower as compared to statewide. In the city of Roanoke, the percent of confirmed EBLLs was four times greater than the statewide average and slightly higher in Franklin County as compared to Virginia. 142
140
Roanoke City & Alleghany Health Districts’ Programs, 2012 Recommendations for Blood Lead Screening of Young Children Enrolled in Medicaid: Targeting a Group at High Risk. MMWR, 49(RR14); 1-13, December 8, 2000. 142 Virginia Department of Health, Lead Safe Virginia, Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, Surveillance Summary Report, 2009 141
Page | 136