Asthma: Wisconsin Initiatives
We work to improve asthma care and reduce disparities by supporting local organizations through funding and by providing resources and evaluation technical assistance.
Learn more about our asthma initiatives within health care and schools, and our initiatives that help patients manage their asthma.
The Asthma-Safe Homes Program provides free, in-home asthma education and home repair services to eligible families with poorly controlled asthma. Our goal is to help Medicaid-eligible kids and expecting parents with asthma live their best lives by building asthma self-care skills and reducing home asthma triggers.
Quality improvement projects empower healthcare professionals to provide data-driven, standardized care to people with asthma.
Helping health care systems track and increase the use of asthma control tests
In partnership with the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality, we are helping healthcare systems track and increase the use of asthma control tests (ACT). Our participating organizations, providers and experts across the state are developing a measure that will track the number of patients with asthma who receive an ACT across systems.
Improving asthma identification, management, and outcomes
The American Lung Association Enhancing Asthma Care Program partners with clinics to strengthen their use of guidelines-based medical care by training health care providers to improve asthma identification, management, and outcomes among asthma patients.
We have proudly facilitated the recruitment of 40 Wisconsin clinics to date. This includes large health systems, federally qualified healthcare centers, and tribal clinics.
Training health care providers to manage environmental asthma triggers
We are working with the Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin, and the National Environmental Education Foundation to train health care providers in their Environmental Management of Pediatric Asthma Guidelines course. This training equips pediatric health care providers and other clinicians with knowledge and tools to manage environmental asthma triggers and provide intervention strategies.
Health outcomes improve when patients are given the tools they need to manage their asthma.
Educating people with asthma on effective medication use
In partnership with Hayat Pharmacy and the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, our program provides funding, resources, and evaluation for Medication Therapy Management (MTM). This service, provided by pharmacists, ensures the best therapeutic outcomes for patients with asthma. MTM includes five core elements:
- Medication therapy review
- A personal medication record
- A medication-related action plan, intervention, or referral
- Documentation
- Follow-up.
Pharmacists educate patients on types of asthma medications, appropriate medication administration, and environmental triggers.
Hayat Pharmacy provides MTM and medication synchronization in underserved areas of Milwaukee, and the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin provides enhanced pharmacy services to Medicaid-eligible asthma patients in six accredited pharmacies in Brown, Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee counties.
Our work in schools helps ensure that kids with asthma have the care they need to be successful in the classroom.
Creating asthma-friendly schools with mini grant opportunities
Our mini grants help school districts implement asthma management programs that help kids stay healthy, learn better, and fully participate in the school day. The grants include evidence-based staff education, a school walkthrough, and assistance ensuring all students with asthma have an asthma management plan on file.
Cleaning up air around Milwaukee schools
Led by the Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin and supported by the Wisconsin Asthma Program and the Wisconsin Climate and Health Program, Breathe SMART is a network of school-based neighborhood air monitors in areas of Milwaukee with high asthma burden and air pollution exposures. This initiative aims to empower people with asthma and their caregivers with access to real-time PM2.5 data and education on actions people can take to minimize harm from unsafe levels of particle air pollution.
Improving asthma in schools
We fund the Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin in implementing the Wisconsin Asthma Coalition’s School and Child Care Walkthrough Program. This program aims to decrease asthma symptoms by reducing exposure to environmental asthma triggers. The walkthrough provides basic asthma education, conducts environmental assessments, and summarizes simple strategies to reduce or eliminate asthma triggers in a final report. Nearly 100 childcare center walkthroughs, and over 200 school walkthroughs have been completed so far.
A school nurse and asthma educator shared, “With the help of the [Wisconsin Asthma Coalition] school walkthrough program, I was able to impact the lives of more than 1,400 students in our district living with asthma by learning how to identify common triggers and positively modify their learning environment. This program not only helped our students, but it also benefited our entire community by improving the air quality within our schools.”