Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Los Angeles: New Law Set To Help Students With Asthma; Asthma Is

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Los Angeles: New Law Set To Help Students With Asthma; Asthma Is

    New Law Set To Help Students With Asthma

    Asthma Is Leading Chronic Illness For Children, Adolescents

    NBC4.tv
    January 3, 2005

    LOS ANGELES -- When classes resume Monday, California schools will be
    required by law to allow students -- with written permission from their
    doctors and parents or guardians -- to carry and use asthma inhalers.

    The law, which went into effect Saturday, is designed to help reduce the
    impact of asthma, an inflammatory lung disease characterized by
    recurrent breathing problems, in children.

    "This can be a life or death issue for the estimated 1 million children
    in California with asthma," said Dr. Timothy A. Morris, president of the
    American Lung Association of California's medical section, the
    California Thoracic Society. "Asthma symptoms can come on quickly and
    instant access to prescribed medications can literally save lives."

    Before the law's passage, school districts were not required to permit
    students with asthma to carry and self-administer their medications.

    Some students had to leave classrooms or playgrounds to seek the help of
    the school nurse or other designated school personnel.

    The state Department of Health Services recently approved an asthma
    action plan for schools and families including the consent and
    authorization language required by the law.

    The department's Asthma Action Plan can be downloaded for free at:
    www.caasthma.org/pdf/3182--Plan--final.pdf.

    In partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, the plan
    has been translated Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Armenian.
    These versions will soon be available at www.caasthma.org.

    About one in seven California children between the ages of 6 and 17 has
    been diagnosed with asthma, according to the Lung Association.

    Asthma is the leading chronic illness for children and adolescents,
    according to the Lung Association.

    The Department of Health Services has also released a set of guidelines
    to assist school personnel in dealing with students with asthma. It is
    available online on the Web sites of the California School Nurses
    Organization, www.csno.org, and the California Asthma Public Health
    Initiative, www.caasthma.org and the Department's Health Public
    Information Finder, www.applications.dhs.ca.gov/healthpubfinder/.


    http://www.nbc4.tv/education/4041641/detail.html
Working...
X