DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jennifer Herriott, MPH
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
A briefing on the City's new asthma home teaching program: SA Kids B.R.E.A.T.H.E. - San Antonio Kids Building Relationships, Effective ASTHMA Teaching in Home Environments, and their Advisory Council.
SUMMARY:
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (Metro Health) will provide a presentation on the progress made in developing and creating this new asthma home teaching program. The program's Medical Advisor and Chair of the SA Kids BREATHE Advisory Council will also provide a presentation on the contributions of the Advisory Council.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Asthma is a leading chronic illness among children and adolescents in the United States, affecting 1 in 12 children (8.3%). Poor and minority children are disproportionately affected by asthma. In Texas, asthma affects 11.7% of children. Two-thirds of Texas children with asthma have limitation in their daily activities and more than half miss 1-3 days of school due to their illness, resulting in overall poorer school performance. Many of these children are then set up for academic failure as they progress through school. Texas Department of State Health Services reported that Bexar County's 2015 inpatient childhood asthma hospitalization rate was 177% higher than the Texas average. The average cost of a single inpatient treatment for asthma is estimated at greater than $3,400 per child. Data confirms the crisis overall, but fails to reveal the true impact of this disease on individual lives of children and their families. Numerous studies confirm the tremendous physical, psychological, financial, and quality of life impacts that children with asthma and their families must manage.
The high rates of local childhood asthma hospitalizations led the South Texas Asthma Coalition to research best practices across the country for a home visiting program in San Anton...
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