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Preventive Health

Being a parent or caregiver can be exciting, but it isn’t always easy. Staying on track with your child’s well-visits, immunizations (shots), and screenings can be hard. UPMC Health Plan provides resources that can help. We will partner with you to make sure your child gets a great start and grows up happy and healthy!

Well-child visits

Taking your child to well-visits is important for their health. During these visits, your child's health care provider will evaluate your child’s developmental milestones, and make sure your child is building good overall health habits. The provider will also do the following:

  • Do a full exam.
  • Provide any needed shots.1
  • Check your child’s development.
  • Perform needed screenings.
  • Check for vision, hearing, and dental problems.
  • Answer any questions you have.

Well-child visits give you a chance to develop a strong relationship with your child’s health care provider.

Children should have regular well-visits based on their age.2 Learn more about what to expect at each of your child’s well-visits.



Immunizations

Immunizations (vaccines) can help protect your child from dangerous diseases. The center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) consults with several expert groups and recommends the following vaccine schedules:





Get shots scheduled
Talk to your child’s health care provider about which shots your child may need.

Podcast on what you need to know about childhood shots
Dr. Johanna Vidal-Phelan is a pediatrician and chief medical officer in the Quality Department at UPMC Health Plan. In this, "Health Break" episode, she talks about why vaccines are important at every stage of childhood.

 

Teach your child about vaccines with our Daniel Tiger's audio story
Vaccines are a key part of keeping children as healthy as possible. Many children may be scared of getting shots. We can help! We're proud to partner with Fred Rogers Productions to offer a free "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" audio story. In it, Daniel Tiger talks about being brave as he prepares to get a shot. The story is great for children who are 5 years old or younger. You can listen to it with your child before they get a vaccine.

How to access the audio story
You can listen to our four-minute story using your Amazon Alexa. Just say, "Ask UPMC Health Plan for a Daniel Tiger story."

Lead screening

A lead screening will determine if your child has been exposed to lead. Your child may have no symptoms in the early stages of lead exposure, but increased exposure can lead to lasting issues, including:7

  • Damage to the brain and nervous system.
  • Slowed growth and development.
  • Learning and behavior problems.
  • Hearing and speech problems.

The first step to protecting your child is to get your child tested for lead exposure.
If your child is 9 months to 12 months old or 24 months old, ask their doctor to do a lead test. There wii be no cost for the test.

A lead test may be completed in the health care provider's office or at a lab. A small blood sample will be taken and tested for lead.

A blood test can be unpleasant, but protecting your child from long-term effects of lead poisoning is important. If there is an elevated level of lead in your child’s blood, the provider will help coordinate follow-up care. Our care management team can also support you and your child.

Schedule this important test
Talk to your child’s provider about getting this important test. This will only take a few minutes. If you need to find a provider for a lead test, vaccines, or a well-child visit, you can search for doctors in your network.

Possible sources of lead exposure
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, your child may be exposed to lead in a number of ways, including through:

  • Lead paint: It may be found in homes that were built before 1978. It is common in many cities and towns throughout Pennsylvania and other states.
  • Lead pipes: These may exist in certain areas resulting in lead in the water that runs through them.
  • Soil and household dust.
  • Glazes used in pottery and/or imported dishware.
  • Certain toys that were made overseas.

Learn more about how you can protect your family from sources of lead and lead poisoning in children.

  1. Coverage is provided for pediatric vaccines (except those required for employment or travel), including immunizing agents that conform to the standards of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pediatric and adult immunization ACIP schedules can be found at cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules.
  2. 2016 recommendations for preventive pediatric health care. Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule Working Group (2016). Pediatrics, 137(1). doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-3908.
  3. 2024 recommended immunizations for birth through 6 years old. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated February 2024. Accessed July 2, 2024 cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs.pdf
  4. Child and adolescent immunization schedule: Recommendations for ages 18 years or younger, United States, 2022. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed: Nov. 16, 2023. Accessed July 2, 2024. cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html
  5. Cancers caused by HPV. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed Feb. 28, 2022. Accessed April 11, 2022. cdc.gov/hpv/parents/cancer.html
  6. HPV vaccination recommendations. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed Nov. 16, 2021. Accessed April 11, 2022. cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hpv/hcp/recommendations.html
  7. Preventing childhood lead poisoning. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated June 12, 2024. Accessed July 2, 2024. cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/default.htm