Asthma program hits road to prevent children’s ER visits

CHRISTUS St. Michael will be taking its new free Mobile Pediatric Asthma Program out in the community this week offering asthma screenings, breathing tests, personal asthma management plans and education.

“We believe this program is very important because we’re seeing a high incidence of individuals presenting to our emergency department with asthma,” said André Storey, CHRISTUS St. Michael director of population health management. “We’re teaming up with other organizations to increase the level of education that youth in the community have, as well as their parents, on how to manage asthma and what the signs and triggers may be. The hope is that it will prevent an episode that would lead them to the emergency room.”

“The target population for this project is children who have uncontrolled and/ or undiagnosed asthma or chronic respiratory problems,” Storey said. “It is expected that many of the children who gain access to care through this project will be Medicaid eligible/indigent and are not currently working with a primary care provider on a regular basis to control their disease process.”

Symptoms and triggers of asthma include coughing that is worse with exercise, inhaled allergens, weather changes, stress and emotional outbursts, viral infections that go from just nasal and throat involvement to a bad cough that last more than 10 days, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, pain and feeling tired or fatigued. It can be life-threatening.

“It’s scary when they have an acute episode. … It’s sometimes life-threatening. If we can prevent that with one or two children, this would be a success,” said Francine Francis, CHRISTUS St. Michael communications director.

The program will not only screen children, but also assist them in getting hooked up with a primary care physician.

“We provide them with a list of pediatricians that are willing to accept Texas Medicaid, and they can choose on their own which provider they will see,” Storey said.

Participants will also receive help getting their prescriptions filled.

“More times than not, access to the prescriptions is the barrier. We can give them access to different programs in the area that will help give them access to lowcost prescriptions,” Storey said. “We work with families of pediatric asthma/respiratory patients through this program to strengthen self-managed asthma care, resulting in fewer asthma attacks, decreased school absenteeism, fewer emergency-room visits and hospitalizations and ultimately a healthier, happier life.”

The mobile asthma program is being done in conjunction with University of Texas Health Science Center in Tyler, Texas.

The program is offered at no charge, but appointments are required and can be made by calling 903-614-2812 or 903-748-8573. Appointments for the July events will be available from 8 a.m. to noon each day.

The mobile asthma program will be at the following locations:

Wednesday at Cross View Baptist Church in the Red Lick, Texas, area

Friday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Texarkana, Texas

July 16 at Central Christian Church, Texarkana, Texas

July 18 at Nash City Hall, Nash, Texas

July 23 at Wake Village Circle, Wake Village, Texas

n July 25 at Rose Hill Ridge, Texarkana, Texas

July 30 at DeKalb First Baptist Church, De Kalb, Texas