Have you heard the podcast that features my colleagues from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS)? They discuss how the CMS Asthma Education Program works with the facilities department at CMS to better serve our students with asthma. Over 11,200 students, or eight percent of the total student body, in CMS have been diagnosed with asthma.
We see our teachers and school nurses at the front lines when it comes to the school indoor environment. Teachers and school nurses are the first to know when a student with asthma has an episode. When they think that episode is linked to the environment, they know exactly who to call in the facilities department to take care of the issue as soon as possible.
The CMS Asthma Education Program is a collaborative initiative between Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the Mecklenburg County Health Department/School Health, and is funded by a collaborative agreement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). The goals are to create a safe, supportive learning environment; increase student participation in academic and school activities; improve attendance; and build lifelong self-management skills for children with asthma.
We want our students with asthma to thrive at CMS. Through collaboration with community partners including the Mecklenburg County Asthma Coalition, we developed a comprehensive Asthma Action Plan that is used throughout the region. We received buy-in from health plans, local physicians, the health department, the local hospital, school system and others in order to standardize this document so that we are all (literally) on the same page.
I am proud of the initiatives CMS has in place to better serve students with asthma, including a new Stewardship Guide that includes information for parents, teachers, students and the entire community to go green.
Do you have a similar success story you would like to share?
Kelly Reeves is an Asthma Management Nurse with the Mecklenburg County Health Department/School Health and works within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School system.