YOUNGSTOWN Board to hire prosecutor for lead-poisoning cases

The health department needs an additional $3,000 for charity burials.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city board of health has authorized development of a contract with Atty. Angela J. Mikulka to act as special prosecutor for its lead-poisoning cases.
Mikulka, associated with the law firm of Anzellotti Sperling Pazol and Small, said the first thing she would do if hired is to research the health board regulation concerning lead poisoning to determine if it would meet potential challenges, such as constitutionality, before prosecution begins.
City Law Director John McNally IV said he would make members of his staff available to assist Mikulka in the research phase.
Mikulka, an Austintown resident and graduate of Youngstown State University and the Akron University School of Law, was introduced to the health board at its Monday meeting.
Money for hiring a lead-poisoning special prosecutor is provided by the Mahoning County Health District with a $10,000 grant from the Alliance for Health Homes.
In Youngstown, 279 children under age 6 are diagnosed with varying degrees of lead poisoning, primarily contracted by ingesting lead dust in homes with lead-based paint built before 1950 or in homes built before 1978 that have been remodeled or renovated, the county health department said.
There are 285 rental properties in Youngstown in noncompliance with a city board of health order to remediate lead-poisoning dangers, city health Commissioner Neil Altman said.
Additional business
In other action, the city health board:
UAsked city council for an additional $3,000 for charity burials this year. So far in 2003, seven burials have used up the $2,500 originally budgeted, Robert Hewitt, director of environmental health, said. The average cost is $300 for a cremation, Hewitt said.
UApproved an amended 2003 agreement with the Mahoning County Health District to provide home visits by a registered nurse to families eligible for the Help Me Grow program. The city health department is reimbursed at a rate of $100 per visit with the total not to exceed $20,000, an increase of $6,000 over the original pact.
UReceived a report that the Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry has received a $300,000 grant under the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act's Title III Early Intervention Services program. The program supports outpatient HIV early-intervention and primary-care services for low-income, medically underserved people.
The HIV/AIDS ministry operates the Comprehensive Care Center at Oak Hill Renaissance Place, a pediatric and adult HIV clinic and support service center, in collaboration with the city health district and with support from Forum Health, Humility of Mary Health Partners and other local sources.