Asthma resources

The Asthma Outreach Project (AOP) is a partnership between Odessa Brown Children's Clinic and Public Health - Seattle & King County. The project was founded to provide comprehensive case management for children with asthma with closely coordinated services provided by a pediatrician, nurse practitioner, an asthma outreach worker and a specialty medical assistant. AOP provides coordinated care to 50-60 children at OBCC with moderate to severe asthma.

The Child Care Health Program provides public health nursing services to 2,000 child care sites in the King County area, as well as multiple Head Start, Early Head Start and ECEAP centers. They identify and manage children who may have asthma (through observation and staff training) and encourage parents and child care providers to utilize medical care and community resources. They assist individual centers and child care homes in developing classroom health plans for children with asthma so that the children are safe and well-cared for while they are in child care.

Public Health's Children with Special Health Care Needs

The CSHCN program has developed an "Asthma Education Kit" for each district which includes educational videos, a peak flow meter and aerochamber for demonstration purposes, and a variety of written information to aid in asthma education.

Public Health's Environmental Health Services

Environmental Health Services of Public Health - Seattle & King County provides direct assistance to patients in King County as well as expert assistance to agencies that work on asthma issues. Activities include:

Household Hazards Line: (206) 296-4692. Provides consultations regarding disposal of household hazardous wastes, substituting less toxic household products, integrated pest management, and indoor air quality.

Indoor Air Quality investigations: (206) 205-4394. Provides indoor air quality consultations and limited investigations for residential dwellings, including the following sources of indoor air quality pollution:

mold

carbon monoxide

volatile organic compounds

household hazardous wastes

solid waste

rodents and other pests

illegal drug labs

Business Waste Line: (206) 296-3976. Provides consultations and services to small quantity generators of hazardous waste (SQGs), including:

hazardous waste management

pollution prevention

substituting less toxic materials

indoor air quality consultations and referrals

SQG investigations

compliance assistance

Child Care Environmental Health Specialists and Community Outreach Workers to reduce environmental asthma triggers in homes.

Little Lungs Breathing, in partnership with the American Lung Association of Washington. Call (206) 441-5100 or visit www.alaw.org.

Training volunteers in collaboration with the Master Home Environmental Program to improve the conditions of child care homes with asthmatic children. Call (206) 441-5100 or visit www.alaw.org.

Seattle Healthy Homes Project

The Seattle Healthy Homes Project is a demonstration project to reduce exposure to indoor asthma triggers among 260 low-income households for children with asthma. An outreach worker makes an initial assessment visit, followed by 5-9 visits over the next year. Outreach workers offer comprehensive package of education and social support, encouragement of behavior changes, provision of materials to reduce exposures (bedding covers, vacuums, door mats, cleaning kits), and help in locating assistance for making structural improvements to reduce moisture. An extensive program evaluation will assess the impact of the project on asthma morbidity. The project began in 1997 and will be completed in September, 2001.

King County Asthma Forum (KCAF)

The King County Asthma Forum brings together individuals and agencies to establish an on-going asthma network to communicate about and collaborate on projects that improve and support asthma prevention, diagnosis, and management.

King County Health Action Plan

The King County Health Action Plan will assemble health care quality indicator data on asthma treatment in King County from managed care plans and explore collaboration opportunities with the Association of Washington Health Plans' pediatric asthma activities. The purpose in studying asthma is to examine how the health care system is responding to illnesses that need frequent, on-going prevention services.

Public Health Nurses

Public Health Nurses (PHNs) throughout the county work with children with asthma (and other special health care needs) and their families in their homes to promote conditions in which the child can achieve the healthiest life possible. PHN interventions include: nursing assessments; referrals; and education about medications, treatments, and needed changes in the environment to reduce episodes of asthma. PHNs work in collaboration with medical providers, schools, and other asthma management projects in the county such as: Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Asthma Outreach Project.