Government

Asthma Start is an asthma management and education program for parents of children 0-18 years old that are living with asthma. The program also addresses psychosocial issues such as lack of insurance, need for a medical home, housing etc. The programs Asthma Coordinators go to the homes of clients referred to the program and collect a brief medical history, provide education, perform an in home environmental inspection, provide tools to assist with managing asthma (pillow and mattress encasings, non bleach based cleaner etc), connects them to need services and advocates with landlords. The programs objectives are to educate parents to take control of their child’s asthma, reduce the child’s asthma symptoms, ED visits and hospitalizations. The program has had significant success in all of the above objectives

Breathe Easy at Home is a web-based referral system, allowing doctors, nurses or other health professionals to refer their Boston patients with asthma for a home inspection, conducted by the Boston Inspectional Services Department. Boston’s Inspectional Services Department enforces the sanitary code for housing in Boston. Their trained Breathe Easy at Home inspectors identify asthma triggers which are covered through the sanitary code, including mold and chronic dampness, leaks, pest infestations, drafty doors and windows, no heat, poor ventilation, and damaged carpeting. Breathe Easy at Home inspectors work with the property owners to eliminate these poor housing conditions.

NBHN - Asthma Program, serves poor, multi-ethnic medically underserved communities under our umbrella organization “The North Brooklyn Asthma Action Alliance”. We provide educational programs in the Williamsburg, Bedford – Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Greenpoint and Fort Green sections of Brooklyn. We utilize the chronic care health model in a comprehensive, family-centered approach to asthma care. Our programs specifically target healthcare disparities related to access quality asthma care. The asthma care team consists of physicians, asthma care coordinators, health educators and community health workers. We maintain a special asthma registry of all asthma patients encountered. Our targeted programs promote improved patient understanding about asthma, environmental triggers, improved self management and optimal patient-physician relationship.

Twelve years ago, the Woodhull North Brooklyn Health Network implemented its comprehensive, evidence-based asthma management program to ensure best practices for asthma care were used to treat all patients with asthma. By educating and training healthcare providers, community organizations and schools, Woodhull has taken a multi-faceted approach to improving asthma care in one of the nation’s highest-risk communities for asthma. At the center of this approach is the Network’s leadership in heading the North Brooklyn Asthma Action Alliance, a coalition that partners with national organizations, community groups and healthcare facilities to deliver a high standard of asthma care to the community. Supporting this work, the program trains doctors, nurses and hospital residents with its PACE program, which aligns with the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Asthma Care, and utilizes a modified Electronic Health Record to ensure that all of Woodhull’s providers deliver Guidelines-based care.

In partnership with Rutgers University, Woodhull performs ground-breaking education on environmental triggers to schools, including the distribution of checklists and diagrams outlining the process to eliminate common triggers. Woodhull also addresses patients’ home environments, distributing environmental control products such as allergen-proof pillow and mattress covers free of charge. Woodhull has renovated the emergency room with a state-of-the-art asthma treatment room, which offers patients assistance with their paperwork while they begin treatment. This fast-track approach has resulted in easier and more effective access to asthma treatment in emergency situations. The results of Woodhull’s work are captured in its Asthma Registry: The number of visits to the pediatric asthma clinic more than doubled between 2008 and 2009, which correlated to a 58 percent reduction in asthma-related emergency room visits and 67 percent decrease in hospitalizations.