As a doctor with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Director of the Pediatric Environmental Health and Lead Clinic, I am very familiar with addressing asthma in the clinical environment. However, my current project—developing an environmentally focused asthma home visitor program for Cincinnati—involved several critical considerations that are not part of a standard clinical practice. I had a lot of questions about implementing a home visit program, including who is best suited to conduct home evaluations and which methods could best measure program effectiveness. I knew it would be beneficial to connect with a program with expertise in my areas of need, so I contacted the AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org Mentor Program to request help.
The Mentor Program matched me with Julie Kuhn, Supervisor of Program Initiatives for the Asthma CarePartners program at Sinai Urban Health Institute. Ms. Kuhn was able to provide valuable insights regarding sources of funding for my program and strategies for preparing a home visit program. These consults have been invaluable in creating excitement for this program, both inside and outside my hospital.
The Mentor Program is just one of the many benefits of joining AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org. Other benefits include access to a member-generated library of up-to-date resources and tools for expanding and improving program outcomes. Being able to meet with leaders of established programs and having the opportunity to discuss strategies have been invaluable, and the resources available on AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org make it easy to put these strategies into action. If you think your program could benefit from connecting with another group to learn how to implement effective asthma programs, I recommend you submit a Mentor Program request today.