Grant helps local agencies fight asthma

Local health officials said more people in Imperial County are being hospitalized due to asthma than in any other part of the state.

Dr. Afshan Baig, Chief Medical Officer at Clinicas de Salud, said, “The patients are going to the emergency room where they may end up being hospitalized.”

On Tuesday, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors approved a half million dollar grant to Comite Civico del Valle, El Centro Regional Medical Center and Clinicas de Salud to work together to fight asthma.

Dr. Adolphe Edward, CEO for ERMC, said, “With the supportive funding from the county today, we send a signal to everybody that we’re going to join forces until this disease is eradicated from the community.”

The website www.californiabreathing.org states over 23,000 people in the area have asthma.

“The burden of asthma is greater in Imperial County than it is in other parts of California,” Robin Hodgkin said. She’s the I.C. Public Health Department Director.

Luis Olmedo, Director of Comite Civico del Valle, said the partnership will provide prescription-based home visits, among other services.

“They’re going to be referring the asthma patients to us and they’re going to be able to provide a more detailed prescribed intervention,” Olmedo said.

“With this more prescribed intervention, it’s going to be more personalized to the needs of the asthma patient,” Olmedo continued to explain.

The feedback from healthcare workers will be of great value to doctors.

“We would be able to hear from qualified people who make home visits as to what the patients’ experiences are and the barriers that they are experiencing as far as taking care of the asthma,” Dr. Baig said.

“The more that we do to fight this disease, the better off we’re going to be as a community – more productive,” Dr. Edward said.

The vote to fund this project was unanimous.