Aurora Health Care recently made a big donation to fund water filtration systems to limit potential lead exposure in the water.

As part of its continuing community outreach, the Director of Children's Health for Aurora Health Care, Dr. Kevin Dahlman, joined the CBS 58 News at 4 to emphasize the importance of testing.

According to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee homes built before 1950 probably have lead pipes, which increases the likelihood of lead in the drinking water. As a pediatrician, there is a simple blood test that we use to test a child to see if they have lead in their system. It's usually just a finger prick and then the blood is tested for lead. 

Young children, infants and developing fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults. In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing and impaired formation and function of blood cells. 

Dr Dahlman says it's important to remember that lead isn't only in water. It's also in old paint, soil, even dust. If lead is also in your drinking water, it may be easy for children to get too much into our bodies and children cannot withstand as much lead as adults can. Lead poisoning can lead to irreversible problems in growth and development in children. 

Dr. Dahlman says Aurora Health Care wants to make sure  all children in the city to have access to safe drinking water. That's why they reached out to the United Way and offered a donation, and then were thrilled that other health systems in the city got on board as well.