Mar 1, 2020, Palmdale, CA, AVPress.com: Breathmobile can rescue students https://www.avpress.com/news/breathmobile-can-rescue-students/article_0171023c-5b85-11ea-b52f-8747f615a9fd.html Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger unveiled the Breathmobile — a new mobile clinic that will visit Antelope Valley schools to treat youngsters with asthma and allergies — at a Friday afternoon ceremony at Dos Caminos Dual Immersion School. … “This truly is a very exciting day for this community. This is something that we have been working on for quite a while,” Barger said at the ceremony, attended by children, parents, Palmdale School District trustees, administrators, county officials and other community leaders. There is a huge need in the Antelope Valley for the Breathmobile, the supervisor said. “The statistics prove it,” Barger said. “Our Los Angeles County Department of Health Services confirmed that 14.2% of children have asthma in the Antelope Valley and don’t have access to services. That is far too many of our youth — from infants to teenagers — who are suffering.” … Palmdale School District trustee Nancy Smith toured the Breathmobile prior to the ceremony. “I think it’s wonderful that we’re going to have access for this for our kids,” Smith said…. “We really appreciate the Palmdale School District was one of the first school districts to express interest in participating in this program,” O’Brien said. Agreements are finalized with Antelope Valley Union High School District, Lancaster School District, Westside Union School District and Wilsona School District, O’Brien added. The childhood asthma rate in the Antelope Valley is estimated to be 65% higher than the U.S. average. A survey done for the county Department of Public Health’s 2017 Key Indicators of Health analysis said 14.2% of children from infants to 17 year olds have asthma in the Antelope Valley, compared to 7.4% countywide and 8.6% nationally. Another 34.2% of children in the Antelope Valley reported that they had to go to the emergency room or urgent care due to asthma…. The Breathmobile will treat asthma sufferers starting at age two, so parents can bring younger children to schools to be seen when the Breathmobile visits. Among the children seen by the Los Angeles Breathmobiles, 85% reach “well controlled” status for their asthma by their third visit, and 96% by their third visit, according to county statistics.
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