The Asthma Care Program helps improve asthma
Overview: A free program for people with poorly controlled asthma that provides asthma self-management education, and a home walkthrough to identify asthma triggers and ways to reduce them.
Goal: To reduce missed school days, urgent care visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations due to asthma. The Asthma Care Program consists of two focus areas:
- Home-based program provides intensive asthma self-management education and a home environmental walkthrough to children, adolescents, and adults with poorly controlled asthma. Includes two in-home sessions.
- Asthma Care Program Guidebook, P-02168: This guidebook is a comprehensive asthma educational tool used for individuals with asthma to provide best-practice, evidence-based guidance on asthma management.
- Home-based program fact sheets:
- School-based program provides intensive asthma self-management education to children and adolescents with asthma at participating schools. A parent or caregiver does not directly participate in the school visits. However, general asthma education and a home walkthrough are available upon request.
- School-based program fact sheets:
- For School Nurses, P-01797 (PDF)
- For Families, P-01784 (PDF)
- School-based program fact sheets:
Asthma Care Program Improves Asthma Outcomes
Review the Asthma Care Program Outcomes fact sheet, P-02403, to learn more about how the program improves outcomes and leads to cost savings (January 2019).
Self-Management
Those who have asthma or who care for someone with asthma will learn:
- How to properly use asthma medications, an inhaler, and other devices.
- How to recognize early warning signs of an asthma attack.
- How to identify common asthma triggers.
- How to recognize the importance of an asthma action plan.
Asthma self-management education includes three- and six-month follow-up calls.
Home Environment
The Asthma Care Home Program utilizes the Asthma Home Environment Checklist. This checklist, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), guides home visitors in identifying environmental asthma triggers most commonly found in homes. It includes sections on the building, home interior and room interior and provides low-cost action steps for remediation.
- Asthma triggers, especially in the home, play a role in increasing the risk of having an asthma attack.
- Common asthma triggers include smoke, mold, pet dander, dust mites, and pests.
- Trained staff identify asthma triggers in the home.
- Recommendations are provided to help reduce identified asthma triggers.
- Free asthma trigger reduction items may be provided.
Who Benefits?
People who struggle to control their asthma and have experienced any of the following challenges due to asthma:
- Missed school or work days
- Emergency department visits
- Hospitalizations
- Urgent care visits
Program site locations
The Asthma Care Program has been launched in the following counties due to their high rates of asthma emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Contact the Asthma Care Program in one of the following locations to learn how you, a family member, or a patient with poorly controlled asthma can reinforce key actions to manage their asthma.
Sawyer County
Sawyer County Public Health
715-634-4806
jbjork@sawyerhs.hayward.wi.us
*Sawyer County is a previous Asthma Care Program participant.
Milwaukee County
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
414-559-2079
DJames@chw.org
UniteWI
414-435-0506
bria@weareunitewi.org
Kenosha County
Kenosha County Division of Health
262-605-6727
Rock County
*Rock County Health Department
608-757-5440
deborah.erickson@co.rock.wi.us
*Rock County is a previous Asthma Care Program participant.
If you are outside of these program locations and are interested in implementing the Asthma Care Program, contact: Cristine Rameker
