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Addressing an Urgent Need
Pittsburgh Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program treats asthma
In this story:
- Nearly five million American children have asthma.
- The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile provides free pulmonary function testing and asthma treatment to children in the Pittsburgh area.
- The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program educates children and parents about asthma in English and Spanish.
Lauren Krause uses asthma testing equipment on the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile in Pittsburgh.
Nearly five million U.S. children suffer from asthma, which results in three million doctor visits and 200,000 hospitalizations per year, according to the American Academy of Asthma and Immunology. To address this urgent health problem, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh teamed up with one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Last year in Pittsburgh, a community needs assessment revealed a high prevalence of untreated asthma in seven communities. In partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, Allergy and Immunology, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program expanded its services to include pediatric asthma services on the vehicle. Dr. Jay Kolls, chief of the UPMC division and director of the program, is part of a multidisciplinary team including a pediatric nurse practitioner and a respiratory therapist that travels from school to school to provide medical treatment.
“The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program is an ideal resource for us to reach out to medically underserved children and facilitate their access to care by seeing them in the school environment,” Kolls says. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program in Pittsburgh has served 52,000 children since 2001.
Breathe Easily
Kolls’ team selected one school for a pilot program to test the services for asthma patients. Among middle school students with identified risk factors, 89 percent were diagnosed with asthma. More than 80 percent needed asthma medications and equipment, which were provided at no cost. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile team also developed an asthma action plan for each patient and worked closely with primary care providers for ongoing care. In addition, the clinic educated children, families and school nurses about asthma — in English and Spanish. Because the asthma pilot program was so successful, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program reached out to other communities.
“It’s clear that the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile’s asthma program is successfully identifying asthma and treating it early among the highest risk populations,” Kolls says. “We value our partnership and appreciate the overwhelming support we have received from RMHC and our local RMHC Chapter to improve the health and well being of the children of the Pittsburgh area for the past seven years.”
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