Community Outreach
- Children’s Health Involving Parents (CHIP) of Greater Richmond
- Instructive Visiting Nurses Association
- Asthma Home Environmental Trigger Mitigation Program
- Community Indoor Asthma Environmental Trigger Mitigation Training
- Childcare Provider Education Programs
- Faith Communities
» Click here for the Community Outreach Program Brochure
Home based case management & Environmental programs
Children’s Health Involving Parents (CHIP) of Greater Richmond
CARMA and Children's Health Involving Parents (CHIP) of Greater Richmond, in partnership, provide case management for children with asthma and their families in Richmond City, Chesterfield County and Henrico County. Children who have had multiple hospital stays or emergency department visits or multiple prescribed medications to help control asthma are given priority.
In addition to asthma education and assistance in asthma management, CHIP assists families in meeting holistic needs such as social, economic, or environmental that can affect their success in managing their child's asthma. CHIP will work with the families of children with uncontrolled asthma to insure access to health insurance, adherence to medication plans, and support for positive home environmental changes to decrease asthma triggers. There are no fees or charges to families open to case management services.
» For referral services, please call the CHIP office and ask to speak to the asthma nurse at (804) 233-2850
» For more information about the program, contact Laura Burns, RN, MPH, AE-C, (804) 213-0917.
Who is eligible?
- Children birth to 18 yrs with diagnosed asthma
- Children with or without insurance
- Families whose income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level
- Children living in Richmond City and surrounding Henrico and Chesterfield counties
Priority enrollments given to children with hospitalization or emergency department visit(s) for asthma within the last year.
» Click here to review the CHIP brochure (pdf).
Instructive Visiting Nurses Association, (IVNA)
A partnership between the IVNA and the CARMA project provides skilled home health nurse visits for children with asthma from birth to 18 years of age. This unique partnership includes home environmental assessments with the provision of supplies and equipment to help decrease environmental asthma triggers. Nurse visits also include medication and device review, skilled physical assessments and linkages with other community sources.
» For referral services, contact the IVNA at (804) 254-6642.
» For more information about the program, contact Laura Burns, RN, MPH, AE-C, (804) 213-0917.
Who is eligible?
Children birth to 18 yrs with diagnosed asthma
This service is offered without charge to participating children & families!
» Click here to review the IVNA brochure (pdf).
Asthma Home Environmental Trigger Mitigation Program
Reducing indoor environmental asthma triggers plays a key role in asthma management. The Bon Secours Richmond Health System and the CARMA Project have developed a new program for families of children with asthma. A grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with additional funding from Bon Secours Richmond, allows us to provide trained Home Environmental Asthma Trigger Specialists (HEATS) to help families assess their home for environmental asthma triggers. These specialists also assist families with the implementation of mitigation strategies to reduce or eliminate indoor environmental asthma triggers by providing education and demonstrations with evidence based methods and by providing supplies, plastic containers for cereal and grains, and cleaning supplies.
» Click here to review the Trigger Mitigation Program brochure (pdf)
» For more information about the program, contact Laura Burns, RN, MPH, AE-C, (804) 213-0917
Community Indoor Asthma Environmental Trigger Mitigation Training
Training is provided for anyone who works with asthmatic children and their families.
The curriculum covers the following topics:
- Asthma pathophysiology review
- In depth asthma trigger instruction
- How to use the EPA environmental checklist
- Detailed in home asthma trigger mitigation strategies
- Case studies for situational practice
- A resource notebook including teaching aids
Resources used in the training
- “Protecting Our Children’s’ Environment: An Educational Outreach Guide on Asthma” (pdf)- Produced by the Environmental Health Center of the National Safety Council
- “Controlling Asthma Triggers In The Home 2005 Update” – Produced by Environmental Health Watch
- “2005 Update: Cockroach Control Guide: Get Rid of Roaches – Breathe Easier!” – produced by Environmental Health Watch
- “Prevent Mold Exposure” - produced by the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition
- Napa County Mosquito Abatement District website – used to develop handout: “How to Mouse Proof Your Home”
- Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Guide for Particle Pollution
- Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Guide for Ozone Pollution
- “Asthma, Children and Pesticides: What you should know to protect your family” from Beyond Pesticides
- Information on asthma and indoor environments for health professionals – EPA
- Information on trigger management for parents and caregivers
» For more information about the program, contact Laura Burns, RN, MPH, AE-C, (804) 213-0917
Childcare Provider Education Programs
CARMA provides free asthma education classes and training to the teachers, staff and administrators of Head Start programs and licensed child care facilities. Asthma Education for Childcare Providers educates staff on the basics of asthma and important indoor environmental factors that may affect asthmatic children in their facility. With increased knowledge, the staff is able to more confidently care for their asthmatic students and ensure a healthy indoor environment in which they can thrive.
By request of the center director, CARMA staff will meet one on one with the director to perform a walk-thru of the facility to identify potential indoor asthma triggers. Once identified, the CARMA Outreach coordinator will provide suggestions on how to mitigate or remediate these potential asthma triggers. If you are interested in having CARMA do a class at your center and/or participate in a trigger-check for your center, contact Susan Garnett, RN, Community Outreach Coordinator at (804) 213-0918.
Highlights include:
- What to do when a child has an asthma attack
- How to recognize symptoms of an asthma attack
- Common potential asthma triggers, how to help students avoid them
- Making your classroom asthma friendly
» Click here to download a printable Asthma Emergency Plan to post in your classroom.
Quicklinks for Head Start teachers & Childcare Providers
- AAN, Mothers of Asthmatics , Breatherville USA™, “Schoolhouse”
- EPA – “Tools for Schools”
- EPA – Asthma fact sheet (pdf)
- American Lung Association , Asthma Friendly Schools Initiative
Faith Communities
CARMA is actively recruiting Parish nurses from the Richmond City, Chesterfield and Henrico county areas to help in our effort to reduce asthma-related childhood hospitalizations.
How can Parish nurses get involved?
- Participate in a 1-2hr CARMA education session on asthma.
- Use the information from the session to educate and empower families with asthmatic children in your congregation.
- Be a resource and guiding light to families in need of help with the dilemmas of childhood asthma.
If you are a Parish nurse or Clergy interested in having classes offered to families of asthmatic children in your parish, please contact Susan Garnett, RN, Community Outreach Coordinator at (804) 213-0918.