{"id":2620,"date":"2012-01-27T08:55:56","date_gmt":"2012-01-27T13:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.healthit.gov\/buzz-blog\/?p=2620"},"modified":"2025-06-26T18:12:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T18:12:22","slug":"asthma-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/blog\/insights-updates\/asthma-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Southeast Minnesota Beacon Develops Asthma Management Toolkit for Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When a child suffers an asthma attack at school, getting the right care at the right time is critical. To respond effectively, school employees need more than quick thinking and general training\u2014they need sound policies and specific action plans that address the needs of individual students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Southeast Minnesota Beacon Community Program<\/a>, which promotes health information exchange in its 11-county service area, has launched a school asthma management program. The goal is to help schools work with parents and health care providers to create a \u201ccocoon of care\u201d for students who have chronic asthma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Asthma Management Toolkit for Schools<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first stage of the program is a web-based asthma management toolkit that offers multiple resources and templates for school administrators, nurses, teachers, and other staff, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • A written action plan for every student with asthma, including the student’s medical information, daily management guidelines, and specific steps for responding to worsening asthma symptoms<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Written policies and processes for parental consent<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Specific actions staff members can perform as part of an asthma management program<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • School policies and procedures for administering medications, including protocols for emergency response to a severe asthma episode<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Education for staff and students about asthma<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Communication templates<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The asthma management toolkit is now available to 48 school districts in southeastern Minnesota, where an estimated 12 percent of the area\u2019s 14,000 students have chronic asthma. Schools are already using toolkit resources to adopt parental consent policies and establish individual treatment protocols for affected students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThis asthma management toolkit will help districts promote school environments where children with asthma can feel safe, be healthy, and remain active,\u201d says Barbara Yawn, M.D., a Beacon co-investigator and pioneer of the Community Collaborative Asthma Project in Olmsted County. “We are very pleased that Beacon gives us the opportunity to develop reliable ways to share asthma-related information between physicians, parents, school nursing and other staff. It is so important that schools and parents have up-to-date and accurate information immediately available to deal with changes in symptoms or asthma attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Linking Schools with Parents and Providers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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