Problem: In February 2026, the Boston Children’s Hospital Emergency Management team was made aware of an upcoming Consumer Reports article on lead and other heavy metals in infant formula and wanted to ensure that both providers and families had the information they needed to assess the conclusions of the article and make decisions to maintain their patients’ and children’s safety.
Solution: The BCH emergency management team reached out to Dr. Marissa Hauptman, Dr. Alan Woolf, and Dr. Shalini Shah as subject matter experts in environmental health. As part of a team including BCH Emergency Management, Gastroenterology, Nutrition, and Government Relations, the PEHSU team drafted SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) education and guidelines for providers to respond to parents concerned about formula recalls and safety. The team also created an infographic for providers to compare the safety of tested formulas, and a patient-facing educational resource in the medical record portal.
Impact: The SBAR notice was delivered to 4,549 healthcare professionals at Boston Children’s Hospital, the educational resource for families was launched on the medical record portal, and the resources were also shared with the Massachusetts Women, Infants, & Children Nutrition Program (WIC) team to disseminate to parents. The region also collaborated with the hopsital and Massachusetts Department of Public Health to create a continuing education opportunity: Heavy Metals in Baby Food and Formula (30 min.) – CEEI, hosted on the Boston Children’s Hospital Center for Educational Excellence & Innovation as part of the Environmental Health Hazard Learning Series.