Community

Boston Medical Center (BMC) has been an integral partner in addressing many problems concerning asthma in the city of Boston over the past 10 years. BMC provides service to the people of Boston, with particular emphasis on providing care for those who can not afford it. There is an increased occurrence of asthma within this population, stemming in part from unhealthy living environments. Through both clinical care and community partnerships, we work to provide a full spectrum of accessible services to people with asthma within the Boston area. Moreover, we have increased visibility concerning the need for safe and healthy homes and developed several programs within the community to ensure this need be met.

Our asthma management program is a system-wide asthma program, not one that simply enrolls certain asthmatics in a specialized program. Because of this approach, Boston Medical Center constantly works towards a vision by providing the best clinical care in a sustainable way. We believe that includes educating both families and professionals on the most effective ways of managing asthma, performing innovative research, and developing partnerships with other Boston organizations to provide advocacy and referral. The BMC primary care and asthma clinics have a history of working with community health centers on asthma care and case management. We lead a unique integrated service delivery network of 15 community health centers within Boston called the Boston HealthNet Collaborative.

BMC has been a forerunner in several innovative programs designed to address the environmental triggers of asthma. Many of our interventions target patients living in physically inadequate housing. BMC has initiated several projects designed to improve access and communication between medical homes for children with asthma, public health agencies and housing agencies within the city of Boston.

My hospital supplies me with a van I drive to clinics and schools that are members of our Rural Health Alliance. I have a portable pulmonary function machine I use for testing and provide asthma education to students, family members, and adults. The programs goal is to provide testing and education to patients who would normally not travel to the hospital to receive care. Clinics are visited monthly and schools are visited every other month. Each school I am in currently has a school based health clinic in it and my reports, medication suggestions, and action plans are made with those providers. Outcomes being followed are FEV1 and personal best changes.

Encourage development of standardized treatment and trigger education in the region and gaining active participation of local industry and health groups in doing so.