Chicago is one of four HEAL Innovation sites for the first year of the program. AAFA is working with the American Lung Association in Greater Chicago to launch a pilot program for adults and adolescents with asthma. The program will include asthma education, home visits, and other resources for families managing asthma in the Chicago area. AAFA and the Lung Association are members of the Chicago Asthma Consortium.

AAFA is working with the Connecticut Department of Public Health to serve people with asthma in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. The program will feature AAFA’s ASTHMA Care for Adults curriculum.

Detroit is one of four HEAL Innovation sites for the first year of the program. AAFA will work in partnership with the AAFA Michigan Chapter (AAFA-MI) to conduct this pilot program. AAFA-MI will implement a multi-component intervention that will improve asthma control through general health and wellness, access to specialty care, assessment of home environments, and asthma self-management education. This program will serve 50 or more families in the greater Detroit area.

Los Angeles is one of four HEAL Innovation sites for the first year of the program. AAFA will work in partnership with Breathe Southern California (Breathe SoCal) to launch a pilot program that will address the needs of adults with asthma in underserved communities of Southeast Los Angeles County.

AAFA is funding a pilot program by AIRnyc to connect 50 households managing asthma with health education, health care, and social programs. As an innovator in community health, AIRnyc works to improve health outcomes while reducing disparities throughout New York City. AIRnyc leads a variety of partnerships and pilot programs with health care delivery organizations, Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), and other stakeholders including community-based organizations, government agencies, and health technology companies. For two decades, AIRnyc’s Community Health Workers have provided in-home services for families who are managing asthma and complex social needs by providing easy-to-understand health education and facilitating connections to health care and social services. Published results regarding AIRnyc’s asthma intervention with the NYC Health and Hospitals system showed a 25% reduction in hospitalizations. Data from a Bronx community hospital partner showed a 51% reduction in asthma admissions and a 21% reduction in Emergency Department use because of the program.

With the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), AAFA is supporting the Building Better Homes and Buildings of Excellence initiatives which will advance carbon-neutral homes with better air quality in disadvantaged communities. This collaboration will raise awareness about the importance of indoor air quality and how it affects people with asthma and allergies throughout New York State. NYSERDA’s mission is to advance clean energy innovation and investments to combat climate change, improve the health, resiliency, and prosperity of New Yorkers, and deliver benefits equitably to all.

AAFA provided the Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) with donations of CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® products. The goal was to improve the indoor air quality for 30 high-risk families living in predominantly Black neighborhoods located near fuel and gas refineries. CAPP offers a comprehensive and sustainable community-driven asthma management program for Black, low-income families. CAPP’s program implements asthma self-management education in the child’s home, community, school, and health care environments.

AAFA (with support from Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron) provided Rady Children’s Hospital with a $200,000 grant to expand their AAFA Severe Asthma Program and their Community Approach to Severe Asthma (CASA) program. A clinical team of pediatric allergist/immunologists, pulmonologists, pharmacists, social workers, respiratory therapists, and registered nurses evaluate each patient and work together to ensure complete care and self-management education is provided from each team member. Children who are seen in the clinic can be referred to the CASA program, connects high-risk, low-income children and their families with trained community health workers (CHWs). Over half of the children in the program are insured by Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program). CHWs help families find and reduce asthma triggers in the home. They also provide free resources and allergen-control products to help reduce these triggers. Rady Children’s location near the U.S.-Mexico border positions it to serve a large Hispanic population.

St. Louis is one of four HEAL Innovation sites for the first year of the program. AAFA will work in partnership with the AAFA St. Louis Chapter and Oasis St. Louis to launch a new home visit program for older adults with asthma. The program will include routine check-ins, coordinate care with an asthma specialist, and provide CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® products for the home.

AAFA provided Children’s National Hospital’s comprehensive pediatric asthma program, “Improving Pediatric Asthma Care (IMPACT DC), and its partner home visiting program, Breathe DC, with donations of CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® products. These products helped 50 high-risk families in predominantly Black neighborhoods address allergen triggers in their homes. IMPACT DC aims to reduce asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations through clinical care and education. Enrollment in IMPACT’s asthma clinic is triggered by recent emergency room visits and hospitalizations among children with poorly controlled asthma. The program offers individualized asthma education and facilitates care coordination among patients, primary care physicians, specialists, case managers, and school personnel. IMPACT also refers patients to home visitor programs, prescription assistance programs, financial counseling, Medicaid enrollment, legal services, tobacco cessation, and other social programs.