Breath Matters
The American Lung Association of California's Monthly e-Newsletter
February 21, 2008 Number 157
http://www.californialung.org
Content:
- Health Tip: Caring for Loved Ones with Chronic Lung Disease
- Association Champions Tobacco Tax Initiative
- Earth Day Banners Prominently Display Association Logo
- Oakland Kicks Asthma Featured in San Francisco Chronicle
- Program Recruits Teens for Undercover Tobacco Buys
- South Coast Air District Funds Open Airways for Schools
- Asthma Educator Institute Offered in Santa Barbara
- California Educator is Nationwide Volunteer of the Week
- Researcher Studies the Role of Immune Cell Receptors
- Climb California
- Tell a Friend
MONTHLY HEALTH TIP
Caring for Loved Ones with Chronic Lung Disease: Sharing your life with and caring for someone with chronic lung disease can present special challenges. To learn how to cope, check out “Living with and Caring for Persons with Chronic Lung Disease” at http://www.thoracic.org/sections/chapters/thoracic%2Dsociety%2D
chapters/ca/publications/resources/respiratory-disease-adults/living.pdf
ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONS TOBACCO TAX INITIATIVE
The American Lung Association of California is advocating for an initiative that would raise the state tobacco tax by an additional 75 cents per pack and dedicate the funds to providing health insurance for all uninsured children in the state and to supporting state tobacco control programs.
The proposed initiative was recently filed with the state Attorney General, which begins the signature process to qualify it for the November 2008 ballot. The tax would raise approximately $750 million a year, enough to cover 800,000 uninsured kids in California with $160 million annually directed toward the state’s model tobacco control program. In addition, the initiative would create a first-ever Lung Cancer Early Detection and Treatment Research program to be administered by the University of California.
For more information, contact Paul Knepprath at 916.554.5864 or pknepprath [at] alac [dot] org
EARTH DAY BANNERS PROMINENTLY DISPLAY ASSOCIATION LOGO
Earth Day banners featuring the American Lung Association of California’s logo will be on display along Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles through the end of April. Part of a high-profile marketing campaign, the logo will be the only one featured on 20 of the banners, which will hang along the busy Wilshire Center Business Improvement District.
The association is an active sponsor of the Wilshire business district’s Earth Day event on April 22, which will feature entertainment, demonstrations, and “green” information. In addition, the business district board recently approved the Wilshire Center Cool District Four Step Program, which pledges to take steps to reduce global warming emissions by at least 2 percent a year for the next 20 years.
For details about the Earth Day event, visit www.wilshirecenter.com/earthday/
For more information, contact Colleen Callahan at 213.384.5864 or ccallahan [at] alac [dot] org
OAKLAND KICKS ASTHMA FEATURED IN SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
The American Lung Association of California’s Oakland Kicks Asthma program was featured in a front page article on asthma in the February 17 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. The program was launched six years ago thanks to funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Oakland Kicks Asthma teaches children and their parents how to better manage the chronic lung disease. Adam Davis, who manages the program, was quoted in the article. He stressed that asthma is a disease few people actually know about.
“It's very typical for children and their parents to not know what the different asthma medications do, and when to use them,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
To view the article, visit http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
f=/c/a/2008/02/17/MN7LV21N8.DTL&hw=Asthma&sn=001&sc=1000
For more information, contact Adam at 510.893.5474 or adavis [at] alac [dot] org
PROGRAM RECRUITS TEENS FOR UNDERCOVER TOBACCO BUYS
The American Lung Association of California is looking for teens ages 14 to 16 who are willing to purchase tobacco as part of a statewide program that checks whether stores are following tobacco laws. The association operates the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act Program, which conducts tobacco compliance checks statewide.
Teens are trained and accompanied by adults on each compliance check. Stores never know the teen was involved in the purchase and teens are paid for each store where they attempt to buy.
For more information, contact Jim Blagg at 877.STAKE.ID (782.5343) or jblagg [at] alac [dot] org, or visit www.stakeact.com
SOUTH COAST AIR DISTRICT FUNDS OPEN AIRWAYS FOR SCHOOLS
The South Coast Air Quality Management District granted $300,000 to the American Lung Association of California for its Open Airways for Schools (OAS) PLUS asthma management programs.
The grant will fund the expansion of the OAS PLUS asthma program into schools in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange counties. About 800 students will be taught the Open Airways for Schools program; 450 parent/caregivers and school staff will be reached through Asthma 101 presentations; and 330 physical education teachers and coaches will be targeted through the Exercise and Asthma: Helping Students and Athletes Stay Active workshops.
For more information, contact Terry Roberts at 909.884.5864 or troberts [at] alac [dot] org
ASTHMA EDUCATOR INSTITUTE OFFERED IN SANTA BARBARA
The American Lung Association of California’s 2008 Asthma Educator Institute is scheduled for March 7-8 at the Schott Center at Santa Barbara City College. The Asthma Educator Institute is designed to prepare healthcare professionals to take the National Asthma Educator Certification Exam.
The exam was developed through the National Asthma Education Certification Board to standardize asthma education and promote optimal asthma management and quality of life among individuals with asthma, their families and communities. The Institute is for licensed healthcare providers, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, health educators, medical assistants, nursing assistants and social workers
To register for the 2008 Asthma Educator Institute, visit http://www.mrsnv.com/evt/home.jsp?id=1851
For more information, contact Donna Beal, MPH, CHES, at 805.963.1426 or dbeal [at] alac [dot] org
CALIFORNIA EDUCATOR IS NATIONWIDE VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK
American Lung Association of California volunteer Kathleen Nourlak was recently named nationwide Volunteer of the Week for her more than 20 years of dedicated service in the Los Angeles area. Over the years, she has implemented asthma education programs such as Open Airways for Schools and Asthma 101 and participated in a number of fundraising and advocacy campaigns.
She was instrumental in the success of the first American Lung Association Respiratory Rally last year in Carson, serving on the Respiratory Rally Steering Committee. She encouraged her colleagues to support the daylong seminar and helped recruit more than 200 respiratory patients to attend the event.
Kathleen has also been a strong advocate for the association in the medical and research communities, helping to deepen relationships with Los Angeles-area respiratory programs and medical leaders in the lung health field.
For more details, visit http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=3882655&tr=y&auid=3374355
RESEARCHER STUDIES THE ROLE OF IMMUNE CELL RECEPTORS
The innate immune system is the first line of defense against infectious disease. Toll-like receptors are immune cell proteins that serve as a key part of this innate immune system. While these receptors recognize infectious threats and protect the lungs, they can also damage them.
The receptors are thought to play a role in asthma, acute respiratory distress syndrome and lung cancer. A researcher at University of California, San Diego, is trying to better understand how these receptors communicate and how that impacts lung health.
Ping-Hui Tseng, Ph.D., is one of 10 researchers funded by the American Lung Association of California in 2007-2008. For more information about the research program and other funded projects, visit http://www.californialung.org/press/071024Research.html
CLIMB CALIFORNIA Enjoy breath-taking views from skyscrapers in San Francisco and Los Angeles at the American Lung Association of California’s Climb California events on March 29 and April 26. Find out more at www.climbcalifornia.org
TELL A FRIEND Forward this e-newsletter to friends, family and business contacts. Encourage them to subscribe for free at http://www.californialung.org. Signing up is easy. Just enter your e-mail address at the upper left corner of the Web site homepage below the logo.
