The West Virginia Asthma Education and Prevention Program and the West Virginia Asthma Coalition have both worked diligently to improve the health of West Virginians with asthma for 10 years.
Some of our successes include:
National Recognition for Asthma Initiatives - AAFA Honorable Mention 2009 - The goal of the Foundation's annual State Honor Roll of Asthma and Allergy Policies for Schools (www.StateHonorRoll.com) is to identify ongoing, state-level progress towards better school-based policies and practices, and to provide a blueprint for asthma and allergy advocates nationwide.
Workforce Development: Asthma Educator Certification Preparation Course - In an effort to increase the number of certified asthma educators (AE-C) in West Virginia, the AEPP held a Preparation Course in May 2009 where 64 medical professionals ranging from Respiratory Therapists, Registered Nurses, School-based Nurses, Pharmacists, and others who wished to improve their knowledge on asthma. To continue this process, AEPP is working with it's partners such as the American Lung Association to bring additional courses and resources to healthcare providers in the state.
Surveillance and Evaluation - The AEPP is the primary source for asthma data in West Virginia. Throughout the year, the AEPP Surveillance Epidemiologist provides asthma data fact sheets, statistical briefs, articles and graphs in noted journals and the AEPP newsletters which are disseminated through the program's listserv and other multi-media sites, inconjunction with providing presentations in statewide conferences especially at Coalition quarterly meetings. The AEPP has a 5 year strategic evaluation plan, that will facilitate the systematic evaluation of all major program components over the next 5 years.
Partnerships - Partners are the key part of AEPP's success. The West Virginia Asthma Coalition funded by AEPP currently has over 80 members representing 30+ organizations and agencies statewide.
AEPP partnered with CAMC Health Education and Research Institute, Inc. in 2007 to update, produce, deliver archived educational modules with online continuing education programs titled: Asthma Education for Primary Care Providers. This web-based curriculum is accessible to the public and is provided to healthcare providers at CAMC Hospital Systems by offering CMEs for physicians and CEUs for nurses, respiratory therapists, and other ancillary staff.
Click here Asthma Education for Healthcare Providers to view the CAMC educational CE tool.
Asthma Outreach Intervention in Federally Qualified Health Care Centers in West Virginia - Cabin Creek Health Systems (CCHS), a Federally Qualified Health Care Center, was selected by the WVAEPP, the WVAC, CAMC, and WVU-OHSR due to their strong leadership ability and prior successful implementation of diabetes self-management programs to be the pilot site to develop and implement an Asthma Initiative in their clinics.
Using the tools of the HEALTHeWV system, an electronic medical record, CCHS began a new initiative training Medical Assistants extensively in asthma care and spirometry testing, updated providers in latest evidence-based practices and built a comprehensive registry in HeWV in order to track patient progress with the skills and expertise provided by WVAEPP and the WVAC. The HeWV custom registry for asthma allows health care providers to collect and review patient-specific interventions and outcomes, such as whether the patient has received training on medications, using their rescue inhaler and how to monitor their progress with a peak-flow meter.
An article highlighting this achievement was noted on the Wheeling Jesuit University website in August 2011. To view the article click here.
Asthma Intervention in Rural Health Care Clinics in West Virginia - This intervention has been made possible via a subcontract agreement with West Virginia University Office of Health Services Research (OHSR). This quality improvement process has been a joint venture with 2 other chronic disease programs, the WV Diabetes Prevention and Control Program and the WV Cardiovascular Health Program. AEPP initiated the Asthma Curriculum and focus in 2003. OHSR per AEPP's requirements tracks 6 key measures for those diagnosed with asthma as stated in NHLBI Guidelines. These include: Documented Asthma Severity; Corticosteroid prescription/use, Albuterol (quick relief) prescriptions/use; Annual Asthma Action Plan, Annual Influenza Vaccinations; and Bi-annual Spirometry testing.
Read the links below for information on the successes achieved at some of the clinics participating with AEPP.
Northern Greenbrier Health Center
Rainelle Medical Center
New River Health Association
Roane County Family Health Care
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