THE MOTT HAVEN-LONGWOOD COMMUNITY ASTHMA PARTNERSHIP

The Health Force Asthma Peer Educator Program has been highly successful in preparing members of the community to go out in their neighborhood and teach others Asthma prevention and management.

Asthma Peer Educators are prepared for eight weeks during an intensified training that teaches them everything they need to know about asthma and related information. Afterwards, they commit to a six-months internship where they implement all their newly acquired knowledge.

Over the last three years, hundreds of Bronx families have reaped the benefits of the Asthma Peer Educator Program. They have gone into city schools, parochial schools and day care centers and provided a six-session Asthma Prevention and Management training aimed at reducing school absenteeism, emergency room visit and general non-compliance issues in the home. The community educator have helped parents implement home environmental assessment to reduce and eliminate triggers.

The Asthma Peer Educator Program has been so successful that many of the graduates have gone on to do similar work as full time Community Health Workers in the Department of Health sponsored Childhood Asthma Initiative.

Health Force is one of five community –based programs that have been selected by the New York City Department of Health to deliver Asthma Prevention Services to those families in the five boroughs that have children affected by Asthma.

As part of the Childhood Asthma Initiative we offer Case Management and a variety of supportive services to these families. Our Community Health Workers provide direct services to families in the South Bronx zip codes 10454 and 10455.

Our workers teach Asthma Education and Asthma Management to children and their parents our mission is to increase awareness and maximize the potential to reduce illness and morbidity. The Initiative includes a comprehensive asthma strategy that promotes a better understanding of asthma care and prevention in the community by combining community partnership, linkage coordination and needs assessment with ongoing trainings, education, and case management.

We look forward to working with you and your family. Should you need further information and assistance, please feel free to contact us at: (718) 585-8585 exts. 224 and 245

HEALTH FORCE: COMMUNITY PREVENTIVE HEALTH INSTITUTE Community Based Asthma Prevention Services Chris Norwood, Executive Director, Health Force, A project of Bronx Community College of the City University of New York