How it works…

Asthma is the the greatest cause of school absenteeism and the number one reason children go to the emergency room. Asthma is not curable, but it IS manageable. People should NOT be dieing of asthma, but they DO. As a matter of fact, 5,000 people die from asthma each year in the US.

“No one today should die from asthma,” says Dr. Kushnir (Allergist/Immunologist on Breathmobile and Co-Medical Director of the NCABreathmobile), “We have sufficient knowledge on how to manage asthma. No one in this day in age should die from asthma. We have multiple medications that control asthma, and that allow children to have normal lives, but few organizations and individuals can deliver that care to children and families of limited financial resources or who don’t have the means of transportation to get to a speciality clinic. The problem becomes worse when there are multiple children in the family with asthma. There is simply very, very limited resources of asthma care. What we provide is the gold standard of asthma management.”

 It can destroy the child’s quality of life and put tremendous financial burden on families, communities, and the Counties through 911 calls, Emergency Room visits, and hospitalizations. The Breathmobile provides diagnosis, education, treatment, and medications to children with asthma AND allergies at their school site. It provides monthly visits of asthma specialists to schools.

Allergist/immunologist Dr. Kushnir with a Breathmobile patient.

We visit each school every six to eight weeks and evaluate each referred (parent approved) asthma- diagnosed student. These areregular doctor visits, so a parent must accompany the child. There are no charges for the visits and no child will be refused.  It is an appointment system. Each child will have an appointment. A first time patient will have a 1 hour visit, and the subsequent visits will be a half hour. Hours of the Breathmobile attending the schools will usually be 9:00 am to 3:30 pm.

Dr. Kushnir & Respiratory Therapist Priscilla talk to a patient after an allergy test is completed.

The Breathmobile visits begin when the schools gets permission from the parents to release their child’s name and medical information to us and when the contracts between ourselves and the school are finalized. Then, the Breathmobile will contact the child’s parents to set up an appointment at their convenience. This is done free of charge and free medication is given to patients, for use in between visits who, do no have an insurance plan

 Some patients are referred to Healthy Homes during their Breathmobile appointment, which is a program that provides home visits that look for asthma triggers and toxins in the home, and that provide education on the home environment. Dust-mite bed covers are provided free of charge.  .

Nurse Spencer going over an asthma action plan with a parent. This was the father's first time on the Breathmobile, and the Breathmobile's first day in Bayview Hunters Point.

The Breathmobile resembles the inside of a doctor’s office. It is is staffed by either a Pediatric allergist/immunologist or a Board certified Pediatrician who is fluent in asthma, an asthma-specialty RN , a Respiratory Therapist,  an asthma-specialty trained medical assistant , and a patient services worker. Every child is given a physical exam, a spirometry testing, medication, AND every child and parent receives one-on-one time with the doctor on board.

Nurse Spencer explaining an asthmatic's lungs to a mother and patient.

Patient Education:

-Proper use of medications, metered dose inhalers, peak flow meters, spacing devices, and nebulizer treatments.

- Indoor environmental control measures.

Nurse Spencer educating a Breathmobile patient on lung anatomy.

Treatment:

-Physical Exams (Everty time a child has an appointment weight, height, and blood pressure are taken)

-Spirometry (Pulmonary Function Exam)

-Skin testing (Allergies and Asthma are very, very closely related, only about 30% of asthma is intrinsic, the rest is extrinsic (resulting from allergies and pollution) )

-Peak Flow Meter Testing

We encourage you to view our YouTube videos, our Facebook page, our Twitter, and to visit our Medicine & Treatment Page to see a step by step explanation of what happens on the Breathmobile.

Medical Assistant Lisa preparing a patient for the Pulmonary Function Test.

 

Here is a podcast of a parent talking about the changes the NCA Breathmobile has brought about in her son’s life:

 

Watch this video on YouTube.