NEW ORLEANS, October 20, 2011 – The disappearance of reliable healthcare services in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina left many children with asthma no choice but to seek treatment in emergency rooms across town – if they sought care at all. Xavier University of Louisiana's Center for Minority Health & Health Disparities Research and Education (CMHDRE), Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans (DCSNO) and the Children's Health Fund (CHF) have teamed up to help reverse that trend by bringing reliable health care directly to these children. The organizations are partnering on the second phase of Head-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL), a program that has been helping New Orleans families manage their children's asthma since Katrina struck. The program is funded by non-profit Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc. (MCAN) and The Merck Company Foundation.
HEAL Phase II, a four-year program aimed at improving childhood asthma management in New Orleans, will use a unique, well-documented approach to deliver care through community health centers and mobile clinics placed in neighborhoods that lack a central source of healthcare. This approach is especially important given the burden of asthma on New Orleans' children. Asthma prevalence rates in New Orleans are three times higher than the national rate – among the highest in the nation – and death rates from childhood asthma are the highest in Louisiana.
"We are doing something that's never been done in New Orleans because waiting for things to return to 'normal' just wasn't an option for kids with asthma," said Leonard Jack, Jr., Ph.D., MSc, CHES, Director of the CMHDRE, Xavier University and principal investigator for HEAL Phase II. "Innovation and science-based approaches are crucial in post-Katrina New Orleans, where thousands now have the daunting task of managing health conditions like asthma in the absence of consistent healthcare and in the face of new environmental challenges."
HEAL Phase II will extend and build upon the lessons learned from the first phase, the most significant of which was that successful childhood asthma management requires access to continuous, evidence-based care that incorporates the home, healthcare setting and school. The program will enroll children (ages 2-18) who receive care at any of the DCSNO clinic locations and the Children's Health Fund-Tulane University Health Sciences Center Department of Pediatrics mobile clinic that currently serves Fredrick Douglas High School and A.D. Crossman Esperanza Charter School. HEAL Phase II will use the following elements to provide coordinated care for children with asthma and their families:
"For years, the Daughters of Charity have been a major provider of primary care in the New Orleans area, and we are honored to be able to help residents at such a pivotal time for the healthcare system in our city," said Michael G. Griffin, President and CEO, Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans. "This partnership will not only enhance the services we already provide to the community, but it will improve the lives of some of our most vulnerable residents – children with asthma."
In 2007, the unique conditions in New Orleans after Katrina – the flooding and subsequent proliferation of mold – prompted MCAN to launch the HEAL project alongside the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The outcome of the first phase of HEAL revealed the need to take key learnings into "real world" settings. The second phase will hopefully make the important case for incorporating training, education, evidence-based care, technology and outreach into sustainable, community-based asthma interventions across the country. In addition, partners and funders are hopeful the findings will provide a basis for advancing national policies that remove barriers to better asthma management and care.
"Since Hurricane Katrina, many children and families have had difficulty accessing health care in New Orleans. Our mobile program allows us to bring comprehensive primary and specialty care directly to children who are otherwise not getting the help they need," said Delaney Gracy, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Children's Health Fund. "Our partnership with Xavier University and Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans brings together groups with a common interest and increases the impact any one of us could have on these kids exponentially."
For more information on the HEAL program, visit www.xula.edu/heal .
About Childhood Asthma
Asthma is the single most common chronic condition among children. In 2009, one in every 11 children – 7.1 million – had asthma, a number that has grown steadily over the 1997-2009 time period. It is also costly. The nation spends between $8 and $10 billion alone on treating childhood asthma, more than any other childhood condition. Additionally, indirect costs which include missed school days and lost wages for a parent or care giver who is caring for a child, approach $10 billion annually. While asthma affects children in every community across the country, low income and minority children bear the heaviest burden of the disease and its consequences, including death. Compared with white non-Hispanic children, data reported in 2009 indicate that asthma is nearly twice as high among Puerto Rican children and twice as high in African-American children.
About HEAL Phase II Partners
The Xavier University Center for Minority Health & Health Disparities Research and Education (CMHDRE) is an education center in the College of Pharmacy supported through funding from the National Institutes of Health. The Center works to eliminate health disparities by providing an environment that supports research, experiential training and community outreach education to students and faculty at Xavier University. CMHDRE partners local, regional and national organizations, including the Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc., Wal-Mart, the Louisiana Office of Public Health and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Chronic Disease and Prevention Unit, to provide services and education to the community on various health topics. For more information, visit www.xula.edu/cop/centers-cmhhdre .
Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans (DCSNO)
Children's Health Fund
About HEAL Phase II Funders
Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc.
The Merck Company Foundation