Robert Allen

Detroit Free Press

FLINT -- The U.S. Surgeon General said most Flint kids exposed to toxic lead in the city's tap water should be OK, but 'trusted voices' need to impart critical nutrition and education.

"The problem is, we don't know which kids are going to develop complications going forward," Dr. Vivek Murthy said Monday night on a visit to the city. "And that's why what we have to do is make sure that we are providing as much support to these kids and their families as possible."

Murthy met with roughly 150 local doctors, social workers, students and more in downtown Flint on Monday and is to speak with residents on Tuesday. He said health practitioners, community leaders and faith leaders should actively educate residents on the issues they face, given the impacts of the public water system's failure.

"I understand that after everything that Flint residents have been through, that they would have some trust issues when it comes to the water and to the information that they're getting," he said. "That's why it's so important in this community that trusted voices speak out, and help people get the information they need."

Prominent among them: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, director of pediatric public health initiatives for Hurley. She's credited with seeing that the water crisis was brought to the public's attention, and she was among the people meeting with Murthy on Monday. She said this visit from the "top doctor in the entire nation" gives the community hope.

She said her patients are "traumatized," and she, too, said it's essential to focus on education, nutrition and health.

Corrosion resulting from a temporary switch in the city's water supply to the Flint River in spring 2014 caused lead to leach into the tap-water pipes. Nearly two years later, hundreds of homes continue to have tap water in excess of 15 parts per billion of lead, the federal action level. Lead is shown to cause permanent brain damage in children.

Murthy on Monday said seeing that children get vitamin C, iron and calcium can help lessen the impacts. He also said part of his work is ensuring that health is considered when policies are enacted across the country, whether water, transportation, housing or other areas.

"If we don't recognize that, then we run the risk of enacting policies that can sometimes have unintentional but deleterious effects on the health of our citizens," he said.

Contact Robert Allen at @rallenMI or rallen@freepress.com.