Government

The mission of the Texas Asthma Control and Prevention (TACPP)Program is to decreas preventable asthma morbidity and reduce the social and economic impact of asthma. Along with many partners across the state who h ave a common vision for asthma health, we seek to reduce the severity of asthma symptoms, and decreas the number of emergency department hospitals visits and deaths due to asthma through education and awareness campaigns.

Comprehensive asthma management program. In 1977, Dr. Plaut embarked on a comprehensive asthma management program. This effort took many forms and covered many sites throughout the U.S. Dr. Albert Sheffer, Chairman of the NHLBI Expert Panel on the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, summarized Plaut’s work saying, "Dr. Plaut's contributions to asthma education are clear, concise, and accurate. They have set a new standard for excellence."

Each of the elements that Plaut developed to improve asthma care has been judged successful by those who used or participated in them. Several have been reported in journal articles. These elements include:
• Directed the nation’s most successful cohort asthma interventions. This $68,000 program saved $266,000 in hospital costs alone.
• Wrote several asthma books, three of which were cited in the 1997 NHLBI Guidelines.
• Developed the Asthma Peak Flow Diary and the Asthma Signs Diary. These diaries allow patients to see the relationship between triggers, peak flow or signs, medicines and activity on a daily basis. (Supplement, Asthma Peak Flow Diary.)
• Designed an asthma action plan for young children based on objective signs rather than symptoms.
• Designed distance-learning programs for professionals and patients.

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.