Kern County Asthma Coalition
The Kern County Asthma Coalition was created through a small grant from The California Endowment in July 2001 to address the needs of Kern County’s children in the area of asthma management. An array of stakeholders was gathered together for the first meeting in November 2001. From school nurses and concerned parents to members of the county health department and pharmaceutical representatives, fifteen people came together that first day with one objective: to provide the children of Kern County and their circle of caregivers the tools to effectively manage asthma. That same month The California Endowment unveiled a grant opportunity for their new initiative, Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA). This small group of recently recruited members threw themselves into this new and unexpected challenge with enthusiasm. Thinking that a coalition in its infancy would not receive consideration for such an ambitious endeavor, the new members and Project Coordinator, Lisa Plank decided that applying for the grant would be a good learning experience for future funding prospects.
Four years later, as one of the twelve recipient coalitions of the CAFA grant, the Kern County Asthma Coalition has grown in membership and ambition. Having decided early on to focus on asthma management in the school setting, the coalition’s work has centered on developing and strengthening relationships with Kern County’s 48 school districts and to provide schools and parents with an effective tool, the Comprehensive Asthma Management Plan (CAMP) to manage their asthmatic students. The Comprehensive Asthma Management Plan is a program that allows schools to choose components that best suit their needs. These components include Asthma 101 trainings for staff and parents, Open Airways for Schools, outdoor maintenance policies, IAQ-Tools for Schools, asthma action plans and the Air Quality Flag Program. Implementation of at least three components and a signed agreement by the school principal or district superintendent is considered a fully implemented program. The Coalition currently has eight targeted districts in various stages of implementation of CAMP.
The shining star of CAMP is the Air Quality Flag Program. Originally designed as a component of CAMP, the Flag Program also exists as a stand alone tool for businesses and community groups to promote air quality awareness. The flags come in a set of four flags; one each in green, yellow, orange and red, corresponding to the four most common levels of the Air Quality Index. They are three feet square nylon with the Kern County Asthma Coalition logo screen printed on them. Provided free of charge to schools and businesses or groups, the flags serve a wide area of the community and bring awareness to the daily air quality in the county. Schools are also given a set of guidelines regarding outdoor activities for their students in relation to the air quality for any given day. Though schools are our main focus of education and advocacy, expanding the flag program to include the community at large is an overarching goal for the Coalition, one that we believe will not only raise awareness of air quality but also begin meaningful dialog among citizens and leaders on the causes of Kern County’s air quality issues and the solutions that will help our children breathe cleaner air.
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