Sen. Jeff Klein, Chancellor Walcott, Release Multi-Pronged Plan to Fight Asthma in the Bronx

Senator Jeffrey D. Klein, (D-Bronx/ Westchester), and New York City School Chancellor Dennis Walcott were joined by parents, community leaders, educators, and healthcare professionals to unveil a multi-pronged plan to fight asthma in the Bronx.

Asthma is the most common chronic disorder in children and, in recent years, has become the leading cause of hospitalization among children in New York. The Bronx has one of the highest asthma rates in the country, with an asthma hospitalization rate that is 70 percent higher than the rest of the city and 700 percent higher than the rest of New York State. Educators have also found asthma to be a major cause for chronic absenteeism in New York City schools.

“This affliction has not only taken our children's health hostage, it is holding their education for ransom,” Senator Klein said. “What we have developed is a comprehensive strategy to detect local environmental triggers that cause asthma attacks, educate parents, and keep kids in the classroom.”

"When a student is sick, they either miss class or struggle to learn,” Chancellor Walcott said. “We need to do everything we can to make sure students attend school so that by their senior year they will be prepared for college and career. The NYC Asthma Friendly Schools Campaign was launched to help reduce asthma-related absences and improve asthma awareness, prevention and management.

At Senator Klein's urging, the state Department of Environmental Conservation this past weekend deployed air monitors for the first time ever in North Eastern Bronx. Four separate thoroughfares – Interstate 495/295, the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Hutchinson River Parkway, and the Bruckner Expressway – run through this area, while two near-by bridges – the Whitestone and the Throggs Neck – are used by more than 40 million motorists each year. Senator Klein and Community Board #10 worked with the DEC to have temporary air monitors placed at the Locust Point Civic Association and the Throggs Neck Houses.

Chancellor Walcott recently announced a new citywide campaign to reduce asthma-related absenteeism in schools. Roughly 17 percent of students have been diagnosed with asthma.

The program includes:

Expansion of the American Lung Association's (ALA) Open Airways Program For Schools:

Parent Summits at Schools with High Asthma Rates:

Provide New Training to Physical Education Teachers in Management and Prevention of Asthma among Students.

Family Shelters to Receive New Asthma Prevention and School Attendance Training: 

 

Senator Klein has introduced new comprehensive legislation to fight the spread of asthma and help reduce the skyrocketing healthcare costs associated with asthma related treatment. 

Which includes     

• Provide for a program of asthma disease management and control within the State Department of Health;
• Require teachers in public and non-public school systems across New York State to be trained in identifying and responding to asthma emergencies in accordance with standards to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health;

• Reduce exhaust exposure to school-age children by expanding a preexisting ban on idling vehicles on school grounds to privately owned automobiles. It would also expand this idling prohibition to private schools.
• Limit the use of chemicals in public buildings and schools known to exacerbate asthma symptoms;
• Expand existing programs designed to combat childhood obesity to also include strategies to curtail incidence of asthma and related conditions.
• Create an asthma tracking program to identify trends in the times, places and demographics of those afflicted with asthma to collect information for the basis of continued addressing of asthma.

Senator Klein will also be sponsoring a training session at the Locust Point Civic Association July 27, from 6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m that will help community groups apply for state environmental justice grants, which are offered by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, that can be used for asthma-fighting efforts in their neighborhoods.

Senator Klein, Chancellor Walcott, stand with  parents, community leaders, educators, and healthcare professionals to unveil a multi-pronged plan to fight asthma in the Bronx at the Locust Point Civic Association. If you look to the far right, you will see one of the DEC air monitors that has been placed in North Eastern Bronx.