Asthma
Providing
asthma programs and services is one of our top priorities as a result
of the local East Bay community suffering among the highest asthma
rates in the state of California, about 20 percent by most official
estimates.
Our
asthma programs and services target kids from underserved populations
that would otherwise not receive the help they need to manage this
potentially deadly disease and live normal, healthy lives.
We
provide educational material to the community upon request, including
informational
videos and we have a registered nurse on staff that answers asthma-related
questions over the phone
Click
here to view KRON-4 segment on our asthma program for East Bay kids
(streaming video)
Click
here for information about Asthma Management
Asthma
Programs
Oakland
Kicks Asthma helps students with asthma improve their
quality of life by teaching them how to recognize asthma symptoms,
triggers, and management.
Since
its inception, Oakland Kicks Asthma has…
-
Conducted student asthma surveys at 17 campuses;
-
Provided
free home-based management training to hundreds of asthmatic adolescents
and families;
-
Worked
with kids in the development of Kickin’ Asthma,
a classroom curriculum for middle and high school students
using peer educators;
-
Trained
school nurses and staff how to help students with asthma;
-
Introduced
lung-function testing into Oakland clinics;
-
Placed
the first ever school asthma-nurse in the Oakland Unified
School District; and
-
Staffed
a new Teen Asthma Clinic at Children’s
Hospital Oakland.
- Began providing Asthma Education to inpatients at Children's Hospital Oakland.
Camp Breathe Easy is
an overnight summer camp for children who have asthma and require
daily medications.
The
goal is to promote self-confidence and teach self-management of a
chronic disease through education, while at the same time offering
traditional camp activities and programs.
Most
of the camp participants are from inner-city neighborhoods. For many,
it’s their first time going to summer camp.
The next Camp Breathe Easy will take place July 9-12, 2006.
.
Managing
Asthma in the Childcare Environment (MACE) is
a workshop designed to increase the asthma awareness of childcare
providers.
Children
spend from 4-12 hours per day in the childcare center. This program
provides the information and skills to childcare providers in order
for them to provide a safe, healthy, and supportive environment for
children under their care who have asthma.
The
workshop provides basic asthma information as well as specific instruction
in asthma medication administration, how to handle emergencies, and
control of environmental triggers. It is presently taught by the nurse
health educator.
Open
Airways for Schools™ teaches
children, aged 8-11, how to detect the warning signs of asthma, including
the environmental factors that can trigger an attack.
The
program also informs
students of the actions they must take to help prevent an asthma attack
and empowers them to better manage their asthma with the assistance
of parents, teachers, school nurses, and physicians.
This
is accomplished through six 40-minute lessons taught by trained volunteers.
The interactive approach utilizes group decision, stories, games,
and role-play to promote children's active involvement in the learning
process.
It
has been proven that children who participate in Open
Airways for Schools...
-
Have
fewer and less severe asthma attacks;
Improve
their academic performance;
-
Are
more confident in own ability to manage their asthma; and
-
Exert
greater influence on their own asthma management.
Interested in learning more about volunteering for the Open Airways program? Contact Beryl Shaw, RN, at the American Lung Association of the East Bay. Beryl may be reached at 510-893-5474, ext. 307 or at bshaw@alaebay.org.
Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools targets
poor
air environments in schools, which can affect not only asthma, but
also a host of other acute and chronic diseases. In turn, this affects
school absenteeism and teacher and student productivity.
The
Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools program is designed
by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and is intended to help identify low-cost ways of improving the air
quality in schools by giving school staff the chance to document the
issues on air quality that affect their working environment and that
of all the students.
The
program is a chance for every staff person to (1) document issues
of concern to them on air quality, using the Tools for Schools Checklist
and (2) learn about free and low-cost ways to improve the physical
environment through the evaluation.
A
“walk-through” of approximately two hours is attended
by an EPA staff person, the principal and/or vice
principals, an OUSD representative, janitorial or grounds staff,
and interested teachers.
The
school is given a Tools For Schools Report to keep.
The report is used by the school to track its progress on the recommendations.
Breathin’ Easy Coaches Clinic We instruct Physical Education teachers and coaches on the tools
to identify and manage asthma among athletes and students engaging
in physical activities.
 |
During the training, PE teachers and coaches are asked to engage in a two-minute physical exercise and then breathe through a straw.
Breathing through a straw helps them understand what it’s like to have an asthma attack. Doing so after a brief physical exercise helps them understand what it’s like for one of their students to experience an asthma attack during PE or practice.
|
The
American Lung Association of the East
Bay has taken a leadership role in forming several
asthma coalitions with other local organizations, including the Oakland
/ Berkeley Asthma Coalition and the
Contra Costa Asthma Coalition.
Working
through these coalitions, we’ve been able to serve more kids
with asthma than would otherwise have been the case.
The
coalition was created in 2002 to reduce the burden of asthma in the
communities of Oakland and Berkeley. Its vision is a community where
all people with asthma have an optimal quality of life.
The
coalition works to reduce the incidence and impact of asthma through
public health leadership, advocacy, education, and equal access to
culturally appropriate and effective health care.
All
coalition members are organizations with strong ties to the community.
The membership includes public health agencies,
non-profit organizations, environmental groups, Medi Cal/ Managed
Care plans, community health clinics, hospitals, and schools.
Coalition
outreach includes a strong physical presence in the local East Bay.
For example, through the placement of billboards
in the community and PSAs
in local East Bay movie theaters.
In
early 2004, the coalition published the “Oakland
/ Berkeley Asthma Hospitalization Report,” an unprecedented
account of the hospitalization rates and their consequences in the
local East Bay community.
Need
Adobe Reader? Click here to download.
Contra
Costa Asthma Coalition
The
Contra Costa Asthma Coalition is an inclusive, broad-based
partnership of organizations and individuals whose mission is to strengthen
Contra Costa County’s ability to prevent asthma and improve
the lives of people affected by asthma.
It
does this by:
- Helping
asthma-related organizations to learn from each other, coordinate
their services, and enhance the continuum of care;
- Promoting
public education and programs that reduce health disparities and
are responsive to the needs of the community; and
- Advocating
for improved local, state, and federal asthma-related programs,
policies and legislation.
Solano Community Action to Fight Asthma
The coalition represents an initiative to reduce the indoor and outdoor environmental triggers among school-aged children with asthma in Solano County.
This program is closely linked to the Solano Asthma Coalition, which came together in the spring of 2001 to examine the state of asthma care among underserved populations in the county.
The mission of the Solano Asthma Coalition is to reduce the burden of asthma and improve the quality of life of people with asthma and their families in Solano County.
Specifically, the coalition works to help people with asthma and their families understand asthma treatment and asthma-control strategies. Among other things, the coalition has published "Does My Child Have Asthma."
Need Adobe Reader? Click here to download.
The coalition vision is that Solano County will be a community where people with asthma live in a healthy environment and have the capacity to enjoy full participation in all activities regardless of their disease.
Among its many efforts, the coalition has developed a proposed woodburning ordinance draft and support materials mailed to the seven cities and the County of Solano.
After coalition members attended various city councils and Board of Supervisors meetings to promote the passage of an ordinance, the City of Fairfield passed an ordinance that took effect in November 2004.
Call
us toll-free at 1-800-LUNG-USA (586-4872)
