A new mobile asthma clinic known as the Breathmobile® will provide free diagnosis, treatment and patient education to low-income, asthmatic school children in Southeast Los Angeles County starting this summer, program sponsors announced today.
The Breathmobile®, housed in a 34-foot-long recreational vehicle, will provide regular treatment for up to 1,000 children at about 22 schools in the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, East Los Angeles, Florence, Huntington Park, South Gate, Maywood, Miramonte, Vernon and Walnut Park.
"Many school children in southeast Los Angeles County do not have health insurance, regular medical treatment or even transportation to a medical facility," said state Assemblyman Marco Antonio Firebaugh, D-Cudahy. "That is why I requested state funding for a mobile asthma clinic to serve these high-risk children."
Firebaugh’s state budget request, approved by Gov. Gray Davis in 1999, provides $200,000 through the state Department of Health Services for the asthma program. The South Coast Air Quality Management District is contributing an additional $100,000 from a penalty settlement of air quality violations.
"In late 1998, I introduced the Children’s Air Quality Agenda to protect one of our most sensitive populations from the adverse health effects of air pollution," said William A. Burke, AQMD Governing Board Chairman. "This mobile asthma clinic will identify and treat asthmatic children who may be experiencing aggravated symptoms on smoggy days."
The program will be managed through a collaborative effort of the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center and the Southern California Chapter of the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America. The foundation originated the Breathmobile® program in 1995 and currently operates three Breathmobile® units in other parts of Los Angeles County.
The Breathmobile® will be staffed by a physician, nurse, respiratory therapist and patient service worker from LA County/USC Medical Center.
Assemblyman Firebaugh, AQMD Chairman Burke and representatives of Los Angeles Unified School District, the Asthma & Allergy Foundation and LAC/USC Medical Center announced the new asthma unit at a news conference today at Elizabeth Learning Center in Cudahy, one of the schools that the Breathmobile® will visit.
Current funding will pay for a new Breathmobile® and one year of operation. Following its first year, LAC/USC Medical Center is expected to fund the continuing operation of the Breathmobile® in southeast Los Angeles County.
Asthmatic Children More Susceptible to Smog
Recent studies have shown that asthmatic children in Southern California are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution. In an ongoing long-term study of nearly 3,700 children in 12 communities across Southern California, asthmatics had more frequent bouts of bronchitis and chronic phlegm than non-asthmatics. Other studies have linked air pollution with an increase in asthmatics’ acute symptoms and emergency room visits and a decrease in their lung function.
Asthma is a serious public health concern across the country since reported cases have risen dramatically during the last decade. Asthma is the No. 1 cause of school absences, the leading cause of children’s visits to emergency rooms and the cause of more than 5,000 deaths a year. Low-income and uninsured residents are particularly at risk because they do not have access to preventive and ongoing medical care that can control asthma and instead receive treatment only during acute asthma attacks in emergency rooms.
The Breathmobile® Program
The Asthma & Allergy Foundation started the Breathmobile® program in 1995 as a way to reach low-income asthmatic children and their families who could not, or were reluctant, to seek treatment in clinics.
As part of the program, students are pre-screened by respiratory therapists before the vehicle visits their school. At the school, Breathmobile® staff do physical examinations including lung function testing, take patient histories, give pharmaceutical treatment onboard and free medications to take home. The Breathmobile® visits each school every six weeks and patients can call the mobile medical unit team or visit LA County/USC medical facilities in between visits. A patient service worker in the mobile unit also works to ensure regular medical treatment for asthmatic students and their families. Breathmobile® staff provide extensive education on the proper use of medications and environmental controls, such as mattress covers, to manage asthma.
"Our studies show that most patients treated at the Breathmobile® have a significant improvement within the first six months," said Francene Lifson, executive director of the Southern California Chapter of Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America. "This program will help reduce school absenteeism and improve the health of hundreds of low-income children in Southeast Los Angeles County."
Key participants in today’s event include:
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