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The Asthma Program

Asthma is the most common chronic illness among American children, and hospitalization rates in East Harlem are the highest in the the U.S. LSAFHS's Asthma Program is a community-based effort that helps families in East Harlem reduce the number and severity of asthma episodes, promoting the idea that environmentally sound housing is basic to everyone's health and well-being.

A Community Environmental Worker visits families in their homes to pinpoint and remove existing asthma triggers. Nurses work with the family's physician to treat, manage, and prevent the disease. The Family Asthma Support Group, held in both English and Spanish, helps families to deal with both the illness and its accompanying stress. And the Children's Activities Group is an after-school program for children aged 6-12 which enables them to exercise their lungs, learn how to manage their asthma, and have fun with other children while exercising their creativity.

Staff members Susan Lachapelle and Ray Lopez have been working to protect families' living conditions with organizations like Upper Manhattan Together and with Legal Aid and tenant groups in court with Landlords, HPD and the NYC Housing Authority. By giving presentations at conferences and community meetings, they raise the level of awareness for this community issue.

Click for more information about: Learning About Mold, our environmental awareness video.

Asthma Prevention Children’s Group

This activity group for children with asthma meets twice weekly and is conducted by a certified teacher. It includes art, drama and writing projects, and yoga-based exercise to keep the children active and healthy. On average, 12 children attend each session and 97 participated in the recent art show. The children have learned to function as a group, improve their physical and social skills, and speak about their asthma.

East Harlem Asthma Facts:

East Harlem has the highest rate of childhood asthma hospitalization in the U.S.

Asthma is the leading cause of hospitalization in New York City.

One in four children in East Harlem have asthma.

The average cost of an overnight hospital stay in NYC for asthma treatment is $3100 - LSAFHS provides its entire array of asthma services to a family for $1800 for an entire year.

Program Name: The Asthma Program
Contacts: Susan Lachapelle and Ray Lopez
Phone: (212) 987-4422
Location: 333 East 115th St. (Between 1st | 2nd) - Map
Schedule: Home Visits M-F, 9-5 by appointment.
Duration: Ongoing, until goals are met.
Admission Process: Self-referral, or through a clinician or community agency.

Quote from a Mother in the Asthma Program:

“Personally I have a lot to be grateful to Little Sisters. My life has changed a lot since I started with your services. My life was focused around my small apartment with four boys that were hyper. Now three of them are in a program after school. The oldest has asthma and is receiving a lot of help from the environmental worker and I have learned everything that can cause my son’s asthma. The nurse also helps me a lot. My smallest child is receiving speech therapy at the nursery. I was going crazy before I met Little Sisters. Above all I am thankful to God and the whole team of Little Sisters. Thank you.”

Article: East Harlem Breathes Easier One Family at a Time
By Grace Williams, LSA Staff Member

   On a balmy July day, in an urban garden named “Pleasant Park”, a group of children gather. Chasing the butterflies that flutter amid the summer cilantro crop and the tiny green tomatoes, they are here to learn. The children have several things in common. They are all between the ages of 6 and 12, and they share the same languages. They come from the East Harlem neighborhood and experience its culture daily; they are all learning how to live with asthma with the help of the Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service’s Asthma Program.

   Often, their parents turn to the program out of desperation. They take their children to clinics and emergency rooms but still struggle with asthma’s problems at home. They are frustrated with the difficult literature and generic explanations they are given. They feel unable to help their children. In the Asthma Program, LSAFHS’s visiting nurses collaborate with the child’s primary health care physician and work with the family in the home. They provide individualized teaching to the child and family about preventive measures. Working with the family, the visiting nurses teach the techniques for managing asthma: how and when to take medications, how to use an inhaler and peak flow meter, how to handle an asthma attack, and the importance of keeping medical appointments.

   When a family feels ready, a community environmental worker goes into their home and performs an assessment. This enables the worker to evaluate if asthma triggers such as molds, dust, and smoke exist in their home. The worker then offers the family a hands-on program to reduce any allergens in the home that have the potential to worsen asthma.

Twice a week, the children attend an activity group where they are encouraged to see themselves as essentially healthy and productive. Here, they are in the company of their peers and under the guidance of two teachers. The children receive asthma education through fun activities like art projects, environmental science projects, creative writing, light exercises, museum and park trips, and gardening. This year, they have grown seedlings that they have transplanted into the Little Sisters plot in the community garden. On this particular day, the children water their plants and identify each one with enthusiasm. “What’s this one?” A teacher asks, pointing to a random green plant, “It begins with a ‘w’.” The children shout, “A WEED!” To which she responds, “Let’s get it out of there!” Working together in the garden, the children take turns watering their well-manicured plot. No one is left out of the process, and they all enjoy what they are learning.

    “They love learning about life,” the teacher explains, “They can identify every single plant in the plot, they are eager to water their plants, to learn about them, and to watch them grow.”

    The Asthma Program has been helping the families of East Harlem breathe easier since 1997. Each child admitted into the program is monitored for one year. Then, six months after leaving the program, a follow-up evaluation is done. If the need for reinforcement exists, the family is re-admitted to the program and the process begins again.

Click for pictures from the Garden Group.