Recently the Department of Health in Orange County and Nemours Children’s Health System hosted Just Breathe Florida- Asthma Awareness Summit to highlight Asthma Awareness Month.

Asthma affects 18.7 million adults in the United States. It is also the most common chronic disease in children under 18, affecting more than 6.8 million children in the United States. In 2014, the prevalence of children 11 to 17 years of age in Orange County with asthma was 10.7 percent.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you can control your asthma and avoid an attack by taking your medicine exactly as your doctor or other medical professional tells you to do and by avoiding environmental triggers, the things that can cause an asthma attack.

The Department of Health in Orange County works within the Orange County community to provide asthma education and mentor schools and childcare centers interested in meeting the criteria to be recognized as an Asthma-Friendly School or Childcare Center. These initiatives are supported by the Florida Asthma Coalition. Schools and childcare centers that become recognized have taken the necessary steps at making their facilities more asthma friendly and creating a safe environment for children. 

Just Breathe Florida was a free community event organized in recognition of Asthma Awareness Month and supplements Florida Asthma Program efforts. Free nebulizer checks, oximetry test, peak flow meters, spacers, and children’s masks were available as well as educational asthma brochures, children’s activity booklets, and other asthma goodies.

Kim Dove, an Environmental Manager and Supervisor of the Florida Asthma Program in DOH-Orange, states “This event is characteristic of what we do at DOH-Orange. The mission of the DOH is to protect, promote & improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, & community efforts. We can’t do this alone. Our success depends on our community engagement as well as our ability to create and sustain viable partnerships with organizations that share a common interest.”

Special thanks to our community sponsors (did not add on the website--Papa John’s of Southeast Orlando, Panda Express in Apopka and Gigi’s Cupcakes).

For more information about the Asthma Program with the Department of Health visit https://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/asthma/.