NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
3 November 2003

S. HARRISBURG STUDENTS TO RECEIVE FREE ASTHMA SCREENING, TREATMENT AND PREVENTION EDUCATION

Harrisburg, PA—City school students and their families will benefit from an innovative new public health effort targeting the respiratory illness of Asthma, Mayor Stephen R. Reed and Hamilton Health Center Chief Executive Officer Jeannine Peterson today announced during the unveiling of the new “Stay Active with Asthma” project set to begin this month in South Harrisburg. The new Asthma screening, treatment and public education program will identify children that may have the illness, provide treatment for those that do, and provide their families with effective prevention strategies and education.

Mayor Reed said the program is ultimately designed to improve the quality of life and academic achievement of children who may suffer from the disease, or are at risk of being struck by it. Asthma is the leading childhood illness in the United States, with some 5 million victims accounting for over 10 million missed school days last year. Nationwide, asthma accounted for nearly 3 million physician and 570 million emergency room visits, including 164,000 hospital stays.

The Mayor said over 3,000 school age students have been identified with the illness in Dauphin County, including nearly 800 who reside in the city.

Reed and Peterson said the new asthma program will begin with a pilot group of twenty children, and expand to reach one hundred youth by Spring of 2004. The targeted children will receive special diagnostic attention and their parents will be provided with assistance in identifying asthma symptoms and preventative measures. School-wide educational and awareness sessions will also be held for all Foose Elementary School students and their parents.

“The goals of this intensive effort are several fold,” said the Mayor. “First and foremost we want to identify every child that may be affected by asthma, but has yet to be properly diagnosed. This will be followed by individualized medical treatment, and then preventive educational and awareness activities targeting both the child and their parents.”

Peterson said the “best treatment for asthma is prevention, and the majority of our efforts will be focused upon reducing the asthma triggers at home, including creating a smoke-free home, pest control management(nearly 40% of all youth are allergic to cockroach allergens), dust mite management, air purification, bedding sanitation, medication management and the enhancement of physical activity.”

“One of our primary goals is to reduce the amount of absenteeism caused by Asthma related illness,” said the Mayor. “Children who miss school because of Asthma problems can easily and quickly fall behind their classmates, creating a circumstance where they are more likely to experience grade failures, drop-outs and other damaging, long-term effects.”

Peterson said the program is being jointly conducted with by the Hamilton Health Center’s Foose Elementary School Health Center, the city and the Harrisburg School District, with assistance and support from the Hall Manor Family Center, Boys and Girls Club, Mt. Pleasant Hispanic American Center, the American Lung Association, AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan and the PA Department of Health. Educational and public awareness materials have been donated to the program by noted pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Astrazeneca.

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