The West Virginia Asthma Coalition was formed by the West Virginia Asthma Education and Prevention Program (AEPP) and is currently facilitated by a partnership between AEPP and the American Lung Association in West Virginia (ALAWV). AEPP is solely funded by a cooperative grant agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which provides funding for WVAC meetings and activities.
WVAC is comprised of five (5) subcommittees:
■ Clinical Asthma Management
■ Community Outreach and Education
■ Data Sharing
■ Environmental Action
■ Schools and Pediatrics
WVAC is governed by an Executive Committee which includes annually elected subcommittee chairs, the WVAC President, Vice President, and the AEPP Program Manager, and the ALA-WV Asthma Coalition Manager. The WVAC President, Vice President and subcommittee chairs are elected annually in September by a majority vote.
The WVAC subcommittees focus on implementing projects that will help achieve the goals addressed in The Strategic Plan for Addressing Asthma in West Virginia.
Goals of the WVAC:
1. Help everyone understand the seriousness of asthma.
2. Promote and ensure the appropriate diagnosis and management of asthma by health care professionals.
3. Encourage patients with asthma--regardless of income, color, gender, creed, language or disability-- to enter into a continuum of care by facilitating access to care.
4. Provide the latest information on asthma health, medication and medical treatment.
5. Improve the quality of life for the patients with asthma.