Florida Asthma Program
Florida Asthma Coalition
One in 12 people in the U.S. have asthma. In addition to considerable impacts on quality of life, the economic cost of asthma is sizeable. The Florida Asthma
Coalition, established in 2009, works to improve asthma outcomes and reduce associated costs for Floridians. The coalition has a designated steering
committee and five workgroups. Membership includes state and local governmental agencies, schools, clinicians, advocacy groups, and many non-government
organizations.
Vision
Floridians with asthma will achieve optimal health and quality of life.
Mission
To reduce the overall burden of asthma, with a focus on minimizing the disproportionate impact of asthma in racial/ethnic and low-income populations,
by promoting asthma awareness and disease prevention at the community level and expanding and improving the quality of asthma education, management, and services through system and policy changes.
Goals
- Increase awareness and early detection of asthma.
- Increase the number of patients with asthma who have a dedicated
asthma care-provider (either PCP within a medical home or asthma
specialist) who provides consistent self-management planning and
education.
- Reduce the number of deaths, hospitalizations, emergency department
visits, school or work days missed, and limitations on activity due to
asthma.
- Reduce asthma disparities among populations disproportionately
affected by asthma.
Strategic and Operational Plans
How we work together
The coalition meets quarterly with members participating in person or via conference call. All of the meetings are approximately one and a half hours, with the exception of the full-day annual meeting in August.
Workgroup meetings are held quarterly or as needed.
Join the Florida Asthma Coalition!
Do you want to stay involved in preventing and controlling asthma in Florida? Membership is open to any individual or organization interested in asthma prevention, education, and disease management.
There is no cost for membership.
Become a member by completing the
Membership Form today!
Membership Types
- Active Members: Active members participate in the majority of the quarterly coalition meetings. They are a member of at least one workgroup and are eligible to vote and hold chair positions.
- Associate Members: Associate members are individuals who want to stay informed about the coalition's activities but do not consistently participate. They receive minutes and notices and participate in coalition meetings and activities as they are able.
Materials About Membership
Workgroups
- School-Based Asthma Management Workgroup: Works to increase the
availability of asthma education in schools and promotes community
partnerships that benefit students with asthma through the Asthma-Friendly
Schools Recognition Opportunity.
- Childcare-Based Asthma Management Workgroup: Helps
childcare centers provide support to families of children with asthma.
Markets and supports the Asthma-Friendly Childcare Center training and
recognition opportunity.
- Clinical Education & Management Workgroup: Provides
leadership in the implementation of validated clinical practice guidelines
for asthma. Encourages health care administrators, clinicians, pharmacists
and other health care providers to participate in trainings and quality
improvement initiatives. Works to increase the number of Certified Asthma
Educators in Florida.
- Environmental Trigger Management Workgroup: Improves
outdoor and indoor air quality (in schools, homes, commercial buildings)
through advocacy, training, and information sharing with stakeholders.
- Evaluation workgroup: Develops program evaluation plans
with stakeholders, conducts ongoing evaluation activities to determine
efficacy of programs, and makes recommendations for improvement.
- Surveillance Workgroup: Identifies data needs of
stakeholders, conducts analyses, and prepares reports and fact sheets
necessary to support asthma prevention and control initiatives at the state
and local level.
Steering Committee
Steering Committee Chairs
Co-Chair: Leslie Hendeles,
PharmD, University of Florida
Co-Chair: Mary P. Martinasek, PhD, CHES,
CPH, University of Tampa
Steering Committee Members
Shirley Westrate, American Lung Association
in Florida
Cindy Capen, University of Florida, Pediatric Pulmonary Center
Cheryl Urbas, Florida Department of Health, Healthy Homes
Program
Kelly Giber, BayCare Health System
Karen Baybut, All Children's Hospital
Dr. Janvier Gasana, Florida International University, South Florida Asthma Consortium
Julie Dudley, Florida Department of Health,
Florida Asthma Program
