School Personnel

Having immediate access to quick-relief medicine is critical for people with asthma. The purpose of this tool is to create a standardized process for designated school personnel and parents to use in order to determine a child's readiness to self-carry a quick-relief inhaler. Use this interactive web-based tool (also available in a print format) to help you identify a student's capabilities and areas that need improvement. Make a plan to work with the student throughout the school year to build the knowledge and skills to self-carry and use a quick-relief inhaler during the school day.

Each May, thousands of organizations join together for Asthma Awareness Month to increase public awareness of the asthma epidemic and to take action to get asthma under control in communities across the nation. Asthma affects over 25 million people of all ages and races. And, though asthma is widespread, public awareness of common asthma triggers and effective asthma management strategies remains limited.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this Event Planning Kit to equip state and local asthma programs to hold community-based awareness and action events during Asthma Awareness Month. Inside you will find ideas and helpful tips for planning and running powerful community asthma events. Be sure to check out the event spotlights to learn about successful efforts other communities had in the past. You will also find sample materials and a resource order form to use at your events.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has announced more than $1.6 billion in funding for school districts nationwide to help students manage their asthma. The funding is part of Gillibrand’s School Asthma Management Plan Act and was included in the national education bill recently signed into law by President Obama. The funding will go to school districts nationwide to help them develop policies over how to deal with student asthma attacks. It will also include money for training so that schools can help students prevent and respond to their own asthma attacks. "This is a real, real world benefit to children with asthma," said Michael Seilback of the American Lung Association. He said if students have help managing their own asthma, they can spend less time in the emergency room and more time in school. "Most children with asthma know there are certain triggers that cause their asthma to flare up and could lead to an asthma attack," Seilback said. "We can’t prevent those symptoms from starting, but, by actively working on their own condition, we try to avoid getting to the point where they’re being sent to an emergency room." According to the New York State Department of Health, more than 56,000 Long Island children suffer from asthma. Nearly 1,300 were hospitalized overnight for their asthma in 2014.