Scholarships Available!

American Lung Association is offering scholarships for individuals to become certified facilitators in Kickin’ Asthma (for ages 11-16) and Open Airways for Schools (for children ages 8-11) asthma self-management programs.  Scholarships are also being offered for the Controlling Asthma: What You Need to Know Flipchart to help patients and caregivers manage asthma effectively. 

For more information and to access the scholarship form, please see the attached document. 

Contact LungFriendly@lung.org with any questions. 

For 41 years, Helen Hammond Redding built a career in banking, but her life changed forever when her son, Christopher, passed away from an exercise-induced asthma attack. Determined to prevent other families from facing the same tragedy, she and her husband founded the Christopher D. Redding Youth Asthma Foundation, which provides asthma education, screenings, and scholarships for student athletes with asthma.

Helen’s work ensures that children receive essential asthma care regardless of financial barriers. She continues to advocate for policy changes to protect young athletes, aiming to require inhalers on the sidelines of school sports events.

Read the full article: "A Legacy of Breathing" – Respiratory Health Association

Respiratory Health Association has released a new, comprehensive Asthma Caregiver’s Handbook which includes a collection of resources for parents, guardians, and other caregivers of children with asthma.  Please visit Respiratory Health Association’s website for links to download a pdf copy, or if you are a health care provider, you may also order a hard copy.  Please note, there is a waitlist for hard copies, but another round of printing will occur.  If you have already placed an order, the Handbooks should be arriving soon. 

 

The Handbook includes 19 chapters organized into 4 sections, plus appendices:

·  The Introduction presents basic information about asthma and the respiratory system. 

·  Managing Your Child’s Asthma addresses how to manage asthma symptoms, asthma action plans, asthma treatment, how to respond to an asthma emergency, asthma triggers and how to manage them, keeping homes asthma-safe, and asthma and food allergies.   

·  Supporting Your Child with Asthma provides caregivers with guidance for talking to their child about asthma; empowering their child’s self-care; asthma, smoking and vaping; and preparing their child for day care, school, and college and adulthood. 

·  Other Tips for Caregivers shares how caregivers can care for themselves, tips from other caregivers, and a doctor’s answers to common questions.

·  The Appendices are rich with tools and resources ranging from a day care provider checklist and how to clean spacers and inhalers to word searches and other activities for children with asthma.

To download a copy or to sign up for a hard copy, visit Asthma Caregiver's Handbook - Respiratory Health Association (resphealth.org).

Allergist and Chicago Asthma Consortium Board Member, Dr. Andrea Pappalardo joins NPR's The 21st!

The 21st Show: Extreme Allergies Are in the Air
July 12, 2022

Some are finding themselves sneezing more than usual this allergy season, and if this is you, you are not alone. The 21st was joined by Dr. Andrea Pappalardo, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine to hear more about why this allergy season is having a larger effect on people.

LISTEN HERE

• September - People Who Manage Asthma Effectively Can Improve Their Chances Against COVID-19

• 4 Asthma Attack Symptoms You Need to Know, According to Doctors
  
• The Role of Viral Infections in Asthma Development and Outcomes
• Asthma causes nearly 10 million doctor visits each year
• Avoiding COVID-19 in Children With Asthma and Allergies
• Asthma More Likely in Kids With Disabilities, Delays

The Cook County Board of Commissioners today voted to endorse a resolution put forward by Commissioner Donna Miller to recognize May as Asthma Awareness Month, and thank the Chicago Asthma Consortium for it's years of dedicated service.

"Our sincere appreciation to President Preckwinkle, the Board of Commissioners, and especially Commissioner Miller for championing the effort to make sure all people in Cook County have access to control the chronic disease asthma," said Matt Siemer, CAC's Board President. "The volunteers who make up the Chicago Asthma Consortium have worked tirelessly for almost 25 years to expand research and education about the prevention and treatment of asthma, to understand and communicate the unequal burden of asthma in disinvested areas of Cook County, and to craft policies that make our schools and public spaces safe for all people. We are very thankful for the show of support from the Board of Commissioners.”

Asthma is a leading cause of Emergency Department use in Cook County, and consistently ranks as one of the top causes of missed days from work and school. Minority populations are up to five times more likely to need to use the ER for asthma, and African American children, in particular, are eight times as likely to die from asthma as their Caucasian peers.

The Chicago Asthma Consortium has continued its work during the COVID-19 pandemic, launching the “Ask an Expert” video series, which allows people in Cook County to ask questions about the relationship between asthma and COVID, and get answers from some of the top asthma experts in the field.

The series can be found on the Chicago Asthma Consortium’s website: https://chicagoasthma.org

View entire resolution here.

• What Happens To Your Body When You Have Asthma, According To Experts
• Benefits of Reducing Exposure to Fine Particles in Children With Asthma
• What Needs to Happen to Fix Race-Based Asthma Disparities?
• Here's How to Manage Asthma if You Usually Rely on the E.R. for Care
• COVID-19-Related Genes Have Higher Expression in Certain Patients With Asthma
  

• COVID-19 Poses a Higher Risk for People with Asthma: What You Can Do
  
• Asthma and coronavirus: Act now to decrease your chance of a serious outcome
  
• Asthma action plan crucial for those with the disease
  
• A Closer Look at Severe Asthma Over Time From Childhood
  
• Bedroom Air Filters May Help Kids With Asthma Breathe Easier
  

• Allergists, CDC say asthma sufferers should have Asthma Action Plan regarding Coronavirus
• How does coronavirus affect asthma sufferers?
• What to Know About Coronavirus If You Have Asthma
• Are People With Asthma at High Risk for Coronavirus?
• Treating Asthma in the Age of the Coronavirus
• What you need to know about coronavirus if you have asthma