Community

The Sonoma County Asthma Coalition''s mission is to work with key stakeholders to improve the quality of life of people affected by asthma and to advocate for policies to minimize the impact of asthma in Sonoma County.

Sonoma County Asthma Coalition focuses on policies and asthma managmement practices that will reduce asthma triggers in our community and increase attention to quality asthma management.

Currently our two areas of focus are indoor air quality in housing and school asthma management.

Our goals for housing include:
1) Increasing use of green guiding housing mandates by cities and our county;
2) Increasing housing code enforcement on mold remediation;
3) Advocating with local cities and county for policies that protect residents from second hand smoke in housing.

For Schools our goals include:
1) Increasing asthma management skills of students with asthma through education;
2) Including asthma management language in school wellness policies;
3) Including asthma and reduction of asthma environmental triggers in health education curriculum;
4) Decreasing asthma triggers in classrooms and on school sites;
5) Increasing the number of PE teachers prepared to handle an asthma emergency.

The coalition also works on statewide asthma policy with the CAFA (Community Action to Fight Asthma) network in the state of California.

We are a new program in McLeod County. This program will consist of nurse home visits that will help reduce environmental triggers of asthma in the homes of children with asthma. We are in the recruitment stage for the is program. As for education our South Central MN Asthma Coalition provides education to daycares, providers, schools and offers fundraising activities such as asthma walks to help raise funds to support the RETA program in McLeod County to purchase home intervention items like HEPA air filters, pillow and mattress dust encasements etc.

The goal of the program is to:
1. Increase community awareness using mass media and other public education channels to distribute the message that asthma is a serious chronic disease. The aim is also to inform the public that asthma can be controlled through a physician-directed asthma management plan and that asthma symptoms and attacks may be prevented by avoidance of exposure to environmental triggers
2. Conduct asthma surveillance which is complete, accurate, and timely.
3. Develope state, local, and organizational policies which reduce the prevalence, severity, and limitations of asthma
4 Educate those with asthma and their families to prevent asthma attacks, recognize asthma symptoms early, and seek appropriate care from their health care providers
5. Promote and provide education for physicians and other health care professionals to diagnose and treat asthma more effectively by using the latest clinical practice guidelines from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute