South Harrisburg Students to Receive Free Asthma Screening, Treatment and Prevention Education
Harrisburg, PA - Hamilton Health Center, in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection and AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan, will kick-off a pilot asthma education program, Stay Active with Asthma, on Monday, November 3, 2003 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 pm. at Foose Elementary School, located at 13th and Sycamore Street in South Harrisburg.
The purpose of the Stay Active with Asthma Program is to assist children with asthma and their families in managing the disease through education, environmental controls and behavior modification. The program will target 100 children ages 6-11.
"AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan is proud to support this important program," said Sherry Knowlton, Vice President and General Manager, AmeriHealth Mercy. "Asthma education and management programs are key to children living with the disease and to their families so that the children can be as healthy as possible and lead active lives."
Stay Active with Asthma consists of six lessons, which are taught during the school day. Each lesson is 30-40 minutes long. It is a six-week course of multi-faceted interactive lessons. It also helps schools control asthma by creating partnerships in asthma care with school personnel, school nurses, physicians, families and respiratory therapists. The program incorporates both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Strategies for Addressing Asthma Within a Coordinated School Health Program" and the American Lung Association's program, Open Airways for Schools, as models for educating within the school system.
The asthma treatment and prevention program is part of the city's public health initiative that establishes city school -based health clinics across the city for students and residents of neighborhoods around the schools.
For more information on the Stay Active with Asthma Program, please call Jawal Boyd at 717-651-3565.
Regionally headquartered in Harrisburg, AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan is a managed care plan currently serving more than 66,000 Medical Assistance recipients in the 10-county Lehigh/Capital Area, as well as in Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne and Pike Counties. |