Inland Empire Health Plan and Riverside (Calif.) University Health System partnered on a childhood lead poisoning prevention effort, boosting Riverside County’s childhood lead screenings by 11% in 2025.
The collaboration resulted from Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set measures indicating that 58.95% of children in Riverside and San Bernardino counties got lead testing in 2024. The insurer and public system identified providers needing further support, operating with the goal of making lead screenings a routine aspect of annual pediatric visits.
“Riverside County’s [Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention] Program was the ideal partner for this work,” Dulce Fernandez, IEHP’s director of quality management, said in a July 9 news release. “Not only do they bring expertise in blood lead testing, but our collaboration also helped strengthen relationships across IEHP’s network of providers.”
Screenings are generally recommended for children at 12 and 24 months, or under 6 years old if they do not have a previous test on record. A blood test is the only method for determining lead poisoning, the release said.
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