Nearly a dozen 7th graders with asthma were welcomed along with other classmates back to school today by a special guest who had a message for them about staying healthy - Kathleen Sebelius, 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Secretary Sebelius met with students and their parents at Thurgood Marshall Elementary, one of 16 schools in Philadelphia that partners with the Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc. (MCAN) program partners to help students better manage their asthma. She talked about the importance of education and creating healthy habits to avoid missing school.

“Nothing is more important than keeping our children healthy, in school and ready to learn as we start the new school year,” said Dr. Floyd Malveaux, Executive Director of MCAN and former Dean of the College of Medicine at Howard University. “We applaud Secretary Sebelius for recognizing that staying healthy can be a challenge for students with asthma – a factor that is even further complicated with the possibility of being exposed to the H1N1 virus, which can increase the severity of asthma symptoms, leading to possible hospitalizations.”

During the meeting, Secretary Sebelius highlighted the work of the Philadelphia MCAN project as a model for inner-city childhood asthma management. Launched in 2005, the Philadelphia MCAN project has improved asthma outcomes for children and reduced school absenteeism by using a community-based approach that integrates families, community agencies, schools and health care providers to implement scientifically proven asthma interventions.

The Philadelphia program brings hope into communities that shoulder a disproportionate share of the childhood asthma burden. Screening conducted with the Philadelphia MCAN project in partnership with The School District of Philadelphia found that one out of four students in the West, Southwest, Olney, Logan and Germantown communities – target communities for the program – have been diagnosed with asthma or have been admitted to the hospital for wheezing, compared to one out of ten nationwide. The Philadelphia program provides children with asthma and their families access to three key services: Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP) classes that educate parents, other caretakers and children with asthma; CAPP home visits where community health workers help families eliminate or control allergens and irritants within the home; and Health Promotion Council (HPC) Link Line services that connect families to asthma care coordinators.

“The unique structure of our program allows us to bring multiple stakeholders to the table to create a successful team that can get children to care and services for better long-term and immediate asthma management,” said Dr. Michael Rosenthal of Thomas Jefferson University and co-lead investigator of the Philadelphia MCAN program. “By collaborating with specific schools to identify children that have asthma, the Philadelphia MCAN project has armed school nurses with essential information to assist students who are at higher risk for complications with H1N1 and seasonal flu virus, allowing them to be better prepared to manage these children at school.”

Nationally, MCAN, a non-profit organization funded by the Merck Company Foundation, provides funding to four other local programs that target low-income, urban populations with high rates of pediatric asthma in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Puerto Rico. The goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs and use the findings to develop model programs that can be replicated and tailored in communities across the country.

“The Philadelphia MCAN program has shown that we can help children manage their asthma and that means improved quality of life, significantly fewer trips to the ER or stays in the hospital, and best of all, more days in school,” said Dr. Tyra Bryant-Stephens from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and co-lead investigator of the Philadelphia MCAN project. “Empowering caregivers and children with this knowledge has helped to greatly decrease the school days missed by children in Philadelphia, a segment of the nearly 13 million schools days missed each year by the millions of children nationwide that have been diagnosed with asthma.”

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About MCAN
The Merck Childhood Asthma Network (MCAN) is a separately incorporated, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization established to address the complex and growing problem of pediatric asthma. MCAN is funded by the Merck Company Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck & Co., Inc. Led by Floyd Malveaux, MD, PhD, a nationally recognized expert in asthma and allergic diseases and former Dean of the Howard University College of Medicine, MCAN is specifically focused on enhancing access to quality asthma care and management for children in the United States.

About the Philadelphia MCAN Project
The Philadelphia MCAN project aims to improve asthma outcomes for children and to reduce school absenteeism through integration of asthma-related programs/services and improved asthma management. The program implements scientifically proven asthma interventions by using a community-based approach which integrates individual families, community agencies, schools and health care providers. During the past three years, partners have worked collaboratively to improve asthma management for urban, disadvantaged children in Philadelphia. Partners include the Philadelphia Allies Against Asthma (PAAA), The Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP) of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), The Health Promotion Council (HPC) Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), the Department of Family and Community Medicine/Thomas Jefferson University (DFCM/TJU), The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) and The City of Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH).

Prevalence of Childhood Asthma in Philadelphia
  * Philadelphia MCAN conducted school screenings in partnership with the SDP in 16 schools and CAPP conducted door-to-door screenings using a validated pediatric asthma tool to determine asthma prevalence in West, Southwest, Olney, Logan and Germantown communities.
  * Screening of 5,798 students found that 1 out of 4 students have been diagnosed with asthma and/or have been admitted to the hospital for wheezing. At Thurgood Marshall Elementary School the results were even higher with 30 percent (~1 out of 3) students screening positive for asthma and another 7 percent had symptoms consistent with asthma but were not diagnosed.
  * CAPP conducted door-to-door screening of 1,315 households which similarly found an asthma prevalence of 25 percent.

Facts & Preliminary Outcomes from the Philadelphia MCAN Program
Once children are identified by healthcare providers, screenings, or self-referrals, they are offered evidence-based programs which include CAPP classes, CAPP Home Visits and/or HPC Link Line Services.

  * 405 families have been enrolled in CAPP Home Visits receiving one-to-one asthma education and tools to reduce asthma triggers in the household. Preliminary findings indicate that these children have experienced reduced asthma symptoms, reduced emergency room visits and reduced hospitalizations.
  * ~400 families have enrolled in Link Line services where they are linked to asthma-related services through Asthma Care Coordinators. Preliminary findings show that these children have improved quality of life and reduced school absenteeism.
  * CAPP has partnered with 32 community sites to provide group asthma education sessions for 325 caregivers and children with asthma. These classes are successful in improving asthma knowledge for participants.
  * SDP has conducted other asthma educational sessions including “asthma clubs” for students to provide additional information and support.
  * The PDH has conducted asthma classes in three centers in the targeted area. These participants also show improved asthma knowledge.

Program Contacts for the Philadelphia MCAN Project
  * Dr. Michael Rosenthal, Vice-Chair, Academic Programs and Research, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University and Co-PI, Philadelphia MCAN (contact Richard Cushman: 215.955.2240, 215.206.4687, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))
  * Dr. Tyra Bryant-Stephens, Director, Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP), Department of Pediatrics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Co-PI, Philadelphia MCAN (contact Rachel Salis-Silverman: 267.426.6063, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))
  * Ms. Vanessa Briggs, Executive Director, Health Promotion Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania (HPC) and Project Director, Philadelphia MCAN (contact Jamie Arehart: 215.985.2500, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))

Contact: Alice Sofield
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202-609-6006
The Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc.