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From the President

Group photo of the School-based Management for Asthma Summit, sponsored by the AAAAI with additional support from the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). Click here to see more photos from the School-based Management of Asthma Summit.

Dear Colleagues,

We continue to move closer to creating a central resource that enables children, families, clinicians, and school-based personnel to develop a circle of support and communication to promote better care for asthmatic children in the school setting.

Holding the School-based Management of Asthma Summit October 8-10 near Washington, DC, was a key step toward accomplishing this goal. Hosted by the AAAAI with generous additional support from the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), it would be putting it mildly to say that the Summit was a huge success.

The participants included over 40 stakeholders from various lay and professional organizations who have relevant interest or expertise, or have developed programs that relate to the school-based management of asthma. They were grouped according to their expertise and/or experience to allow for collaboration before, during, and after the Summit to gather and discuss resources for clinicians, school personnel and families relevant to the care of children with asthma in schools.

Everyone was truly enthusiastic to be gathered together for such a worthy cause, which led to an indescribable energy among the Summit participants. If you recall, I established the AAAAI Office of School-based Management of Asthma and Allergic/Immunologic Diseases (OSMA) to drive my larger initiative of improving the care of asthmatic children within the school setting. Both OSMA and NASN were instrumental in planning the Summit. These groups deserve a heartfelt thank you for all of their hard work and efforts.

What Was the Summit Seeking to Address?

The Summit was structured to address the following overall critical elements:

  1. The development of school authorization forms for various medical interventions and the use of asthma action plans.
  2. The development of asthma management content information within an electronic health record system that is easy to access and modify over time, and its transmission to appropriate school personnel and families.
  3. A discussion of the pros and cons of various asthma education materials that can be used in the school setting to inform both students and school personnel in a timely and effective manner.
  4. The development of strategies to evaluate and modulate/eliminate school and home environmental factors that are asthma triggers.
  5. An evaluation/implementation of various mechanisms/programs at the local, state and national level that can sustain successful development of any or all of the above.

How Were the Groups Divided?

Below is an outline of the groups that were identified for collaboration, along with which members from OSMA led each group at the Summit:

  • Group 1 co-led by Sujani Kakumanu, MD, FAAAAI, and Nicholas Antos, MD: to develop mechanisms for clinicians to provide information to school nurses for the care of children with asthma, which will emphasize the development of expertise and experience in the delivery of asthma action plans via electronic health records, with templates for legal consent of care (medical authorization forms that can be standardized whenever possible).
  • Group 2: School nurses and personnel familiar with implementing asthma action plans, using asthma education materials, and experienced in providing treatment for children with asthma.
    • Group 2-A, led by Stanley J. Szefler, MD, FAAAAI: to focus on processing of information/communication from clinicians (will work with Group 1 on facilitation of asthma action plans) and the ongoing communication of this information to the families.
    • Group 2-B, led by Paul V. Williams, MD, FAAAAI: to focus on education (asthma education programs for children and education programs for nurses/school staff).
  • Group 3: Researchers, clinicians, and school personnel versed in the mitigation of asthma triggers in the school, at home and in the community, and familiar with funding sources for the long-term sustainability for the care and treatment of children with asthma.
    • Group 3-A, led by Wanda Phipatanakul, MD, MS, FAAAAI: to focus on the school and home environments including programs that address triggers.
    • Group 3-B, led by Michelle Cloutier, MD: to focus on the dissemination, implementation and the sustainability of the summit recommendations at the local, state and federal levels.

What Took Place at the Summit?

Thursday evening started with a reception, an overview of the Summit and a welcome from NASN. In addition, Stanley Szefler and Michelle Cloutier shared their experiences with the Building Bridges Program and Easy Breathing Program, respectively. These presentations gave the Summit participants an opportunity to hear about two existing programs that have been successful in terms of improving the care of asthmatic children.

Most of Friday was spent divided into the above breakout groups, addressing the questions that each group leader generated for their group members. After ample time for discussion, all of the groups presented on how they answered their particular questions.

One of the most memorable moments of the Summit was a group activity we completed Friday afternoon. It revolved around a detailed case study I presented describing a 14-year-old African American boy with asthma who is at a new school. After providing time for everyone to confer within their groups, we came together and passed a football from group to group, using the case study to show how each would play a role in the successful management of the child’s care in the school setting. Michelle Cloutier, the leader of the final group to take the ball, flawlessly finished her presentation by going into the “end zone” and eagerly making a touchdown. 

The camaraderie during this activity was inspiring and led us into the final half-day on Saturday, which focused on describing and formalizing the writing assignments that each group received. These assignments will go toward generating a white paper that will summarize recommendations for future achievement of the goals and action items that were developed and formalized during the Summit.

What’s Next?

Our focus is now centered on creating the white paper, which we intend to publish by April 1, 2016. Conference calls are being held with the group leaders, as well as with the members of each Summit group, to ensure everyone remains on task.

If you will be at the 2016 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles and want to hear more, I invite you to attend the AAAAI Business Meeting Monday, March 7 at 12:30 pm. I will be presenting a summary of the Summit during my Business Meeting address.

I am confident that we can carry the enthusiasm from the Summit all the way through to the completion of the white paper—and beyond. There is much work to do, but the end result will be a unified and sustainable approach to provide the best asthma care possible for children within the school, extended community and family environments.

 

Sincerely,

Robert F. Lemanske, Jr., MD, FAAAAI

AAAAI President

 

Last updated: November 5, 2015