Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/552614
Inhalation AUGUST 2015 27 Building Bridges for Asthma Care One of the major obstacles to manag- ing asthma is communication. Much information needs to be shared between students, families, school staff and healthcare providers. So, in 2012, GSK, funded a collaboration with Children's Hospital Colorado, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, National Jewish Health and the public school systems in Hartford, CT, US and Denver, CO, US. This resulted in a program that has been established in a group of schools in Denver and Hartford called "Build- ing Bridges for Asthma Care," which puts students at the center of a new, school-based, asthma management model. As part of Building Bridges, school nurses identify students with asthma, based on medical history provided by their parents. During the year, the nurses monitor the child's absen- teeism, physical activity, and asthma control levels, and communicate this information to parents and health- care providers. In preparation for the back-to-school season, school nurses help get the families and healthcare providers organized with an asthma control checklist and school health forms to be returned during registration. Fewer absences, fuller classrooms New data from three Hartford schools was presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Thoracic Society showed nearly a 12% drop in school absences among children enrolled in the program, compared to an 8% increase in children with asthma of comparable severity not covered by the program. Since enrolling in Building Bridges, Countess hasn't missed a single day of school due to asthma. She is happy, more confident than ever and her asthma is under control. Her mother has found that the Building Bridges program provided her with the tools and a network of professionals to help monitor her daughter so that she could remain healthy and in school. She has a new job, and hasn't had to rush her daughter to the emergency room. All of the needed healthcare team is in place and appropriate treat- ment plans have been developed. Although the absenteeism data are preliminary and from one school district for the first of two years, these data provide compelling evi- dence that school absenteeism rates can be significantly decreased by a program linking school nurses more closely with families and primary care providers. The program was expanded to a total of 28 schools in the 2014-2015 school year and fur- ther data is expected to bring new insights into this issue. The results of this program are encouraging. We at GSK look for- ward to the continued success of the Building Bridges program, but, more importantly, to the positive changes in the lives of children like Countess. David Stempel, MD, is Medical Direc- tor, Stanley Szefler, MD is a Principal Investigator and Melanie Gleason, PA-C is a Project Manager at GSK, 5 Moore Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC, US, 27709, Tel: +1 888 825-5249, david.a.stempel@gsk.com. Website: www.us.gsk.com. continued from page 28