DC School Asthma and Allergy Initiative

The DC School Asthma and Allergy Initiative is a partnership between SchoolAsthmaAllergy.com, a Web site funded by Schering Corporation, designed to support those caring for children with asthma and allergies, and prominent healthcare organizations in the Washington, DC area.

Asthma is the third leading cause of preventable hospitalizations in the United States, with approximately 470,000 hospitalizations and more than 5,000 deaths a year. Nearly 5 million children have asthma. Asthma is a leading cause of missed school days, accounting for 10 million absences per year.

Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the United States, costing the healthcare system over 18 billion dollars annually. The prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases continues to grow, probably reflecting both increased exposures and enhanced responses to allergens.

Given the magnitude of the problem, the DC School Asthma and Allergy Initiative was created to offer specific, concrete, ongoing support to those caring for school-aged children with asthma and allergies.

The major resource offered by The DC School Asthma and Allergy Initiative is the Web site SchoolAsthmaAllergy.com, a comprehensive resource containing multiple tools and materials suitable for school nurses, teachers, administrators, parents, and others to utilize as they manage the asthma and allergic conditions of the children in their care. The Web site has been designed as the hub of an extensive web of valuable information concerning asthma and allergies, and contains more than 400 links to other valuable online resources.

In order to offer the most relevant local information to those caring for children in DC, The DC School Asthma and Allergy Initiative has implemented a section of the SchoolAsthmaAllergy.com site entitled SchoolAsthmaAllergy.com/DC. There, the DC healthcare worker can find links and information concerning local DC contacts, upcoming events, and a selection of free, orderable materials dealing with asthma and allergies.

The DC School Asthma and Allergy Initiative will also be sponsoring regular events and seminars throughout the DC area, in order to better educate and inform those caring for children with asthma and allergies with the most useful and up-to-date information concerning asthma and allergic disease management.