Schools

More than 20 million Americans have asthma, including an estimated 6.3 million children under the age of 18. This chronic, but manageable, disease affects 1 in 14 school-aged children(1). Among Minnesota children with asthma, more than half had an asthma attack in the past year(2). Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness. Over 14 million school days are missed due to asthma each year (3). (MDH) School staff, families and healthcare professionals play an important role in helping students with asthma manage their disease at school. Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Southeast Minnesota Beacon project wants to connect school nurses, county public health nurses, and local clinics and hospitals so that treatment– especially for chronic problems such as childhood asthma— does not happen in isolation.

Stage one of the Asthma project includes Outreach to schools, families and health professionals to encourage participation in managing students’ asthma at school. The project will assist schools in Southeast Minnesota with the implementation of an effective asthma management program.

This program includes:

• A written action plan for every student with asthma.
• Written policies and processes for parental consent.
• Specific actions staff members can perform in the asthma management program.
• School policies and procedures for administering medications, including protocols for emergency response to a severe asthma episode.
• Education for staff and students about asthma.
• Communication templates.
  

Stage two of the Asthma project will enable the asthma management program with technologies for improved access, efficiencies, confidential student tracking and direct communication lines with health professionals. Our focus is on good communication among health providers, school staff, and families through ongoing exchange of information, agreement on goals and strategies, and a sharing of responsibilities.

School Asthma Management Program Toolkit
This Asthma management program toolkit is designed to assist schools in Southeast Minnesota in creating an asthma-friendly school and fostering communication lines with regional providers promoting an environment where children with asthma can be healthy, happy and active. Improved asthma management is proved to result in improved attendance and performance at school.

The following are examples that may be modified for each school’s specific management plan needs.

A. Asthma Action Plan (AAP)
An asthma action plan is a written plan from a licensed health care professional to help manage asthma and prevent asthma attacks. This action plan should be accompanied by a signed parental consent, kept on file at school, and renewed every year. Because every student’s asthma is different, the action plan will be specific to each student’s needs. The action plan includes the student’s medical information, daily management guidelines and specific steps for responding to worsening asthma symptoms.

• MN Dept of Health: AAP Form  (PDF)
• Mayo Clinic:Mayo Clinic AAP (PDF)
• Mayo Clinic Health System (Owatonna Example): MHS AAP Form (PDF)
• Olmsted Medical Center: Asthma Action Plan (PDF)
• Winona Health (using MDH Template): AAP Form  (PDF)
  

B. Consent

• MN Dept of Health: Consent to Share AAP and Information about My Childs Asthma (PDF: 42KB/1 page)
• Olmsted County: Consent to Share AAP (Mayo Clinic & Olmsted Medical)

C. Workflow and Quick Guides

• School Asthma Workflow (PDF 149 KB)
• Asthma Coach Card (PDF 40.1 KB)
• Asthma Poster (PDF 103 KB)

D. Communications
The following sample templates may be used to communicate with the parent(s) or guardian(s)and health care provider(s) (with parental permission) about acute episodes, if any, and about changes in a student’s health status, and to track asthma control.

• Letter to Parents or Guardians Template (PDF 70 KB)
• Parent or Guardian Request for Consent Template (PDF 86 KB)
• Fax Letter school to health professional 18 Aug 2011 (PDF 143 KB)
  

E. Getting Involved

• Beacon Brochure (PDF 428 KB)
• Involvement_Request_for_Schools (PDF 102 KB)
  

Asthma Education

• Asthma Resource List (PDF 339KB)
• Your Child’s Asthma (Mayo Eugenio Litta Children’s Hospital, PDF 346KB)
• The Coach’s Asthma Clipboard Program 
• American Academy of Pediatrics: Schooled in Asthma
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Asthma 
• Managing Asthma: A Guide for Schools (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2003 Edition PDF)
• Managing Asthma in the School Environment (EPA)
  

Further Information

• MN Dept of Health (MDH): Asthma Program
  
  • MDH Health Fact Sheet: Asthma in Minnesota  (APR 2011; PDF 48/KB/2 pages)
  • School Walkthrough Fact Sheet focuses on low to no cost solutions for addressing environmental asthma triggers. (NOV 2009; PDF 43KB/2 pages)
    
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Asthma 
• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools to promote a healthy environment
  

References
(1) Minnesota Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2006
(2) National Survey of Children’s Health, 2003
(3) Mannino DM, Homa DM, Akinbami LJ, Moorman JE, Gwynn C, Redd S. Surveillance for Asthma-United States, 1980-1999. MMWR March 29, 2002; 51 (No.SS-1):1-13.