Release #369-98

Contact: Colleen Roche/Brenda Perez (212) 788-2958
Sandra Mullin (DOH) (212) 788-5290

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today launched a new asthma telephone action line and asthma public education campaign directed at those suffering from asthma, particularly children and their care givers. The campaign's mission is to increase awareness about asthma, improve medical management of asthma, and help families reduce exposure to substances that may cause symptoms.

Joining the Mayor for the announcement at City Hall were Deputy Mayor Ninfa Segarra; Health Policy Advisor Dr. Rosa Gil; Health Commissioner Dr. Neal L. Cohen; City Council Health Committee Chair Victor Robles; American Lung Association Past President Dr. Robert B. Mellins; and Judith Cashman, Director of Clinical Services, Neighborhood Health Providers.

The asthma advertising campaign, slated for placement throughout the City's public transportation system, features New York City children engaged in a wide variety of physical activities with the tagline I Have Asthma But Asthma Doesn't Have Me. The campaign, a key component City's Childhood Asthma Initiative, vividly sends the message that children with asthma can lead full, active lives.

"This education campaign is very important for children suffering from asthma," Mayor Giuliani said. "The message we want to send is that children whose asthma is properly managed can lead happy, active lives. The campaign will do much to reduce asthma-related illnesses in New York City, hospitalizations as well as emergency room visits, school absences and lost workdays due to asthma."

A toll-free Asthma Action Line, 1 - 877 - ASTHMA - 0, has also been established to provide New Yorkers with helpful information about prevention, treatment and available services.

Health Department Commissioner Dr. Neil L. Cohen said, "The Health Department is taking a leadership role in assisting City neighborhoods in the battle against asthma. We are forming partnerships with individuals and institutions, with lay people and with experts. We are offering the resources and tools to make children and parents active participants in the fight against asthma."

The New York City Childhood Asthma Initiative is a public-private partnership of the Health Department, the City Council, Hunter College, the American Lung Association, and others. The Initiative, part of the City's ongoing efforts to reduce asthma-related illnesses, is designed to:

• improve the diagnosis and treatment of asthma;
• reduce exposures to irritants and allergens in the home and community;
• enable patients and families to better manage their asthma,
• increase public and patient awareness of asthma and preventive measures to minimize symptoms; and
• mobilize community partnerships to coordinate asthma intervention efforts.

Since its inception, the campaign has made progress on several fronts, including:

• More than 800 public health nurses in DOH's Bureau of School Health have been trained to teach the Open Airways curriculum to over 5,000 children in approximately 600 public schools. Preliminary analysis showed that asthma-related classroom absences were reduced by 13% for students who participated in the program;
• the City's first community-based asthma resource center opened this summer in the Hunts Point section of The Bronx;
• planning groups have been established in East Harlem and Greenpoint/Williamsburg to support the implementation of comprehensive programs linking interventions in doctors' offices with activities in schools, homes and community centers;
• a medical provider asthma education program is underway;
• "best practice" models for asthma management are being developed with managed care organizations;
• DOH will continue its ongoing tracking of asthma prevalence; and
• plans to develop training for 40 Beacon School program staff (to be expanded to 80 next year), New York City Housing Authority community center staffs and Day Care Center staffs is underway.