OSF St. Joseph Launches Initiative to Reduce Recurring Asthma Visits to PromptCare, Emergency Department

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, an estimated 25 million people, including 6.2 million children, in the United States suffer from asthma. Although Illinois has a higher rate of mortality from asthma than other states in the U.S., Illinois’ asthma rates have been declining at a higher pace than the U.S. – helping to bridge the gap.

OSF St. Joseph Medical Center is working to contribute to the state’s decrease in mortality rates from asthma by providing education to every pediatric patient who presents to OSF PromptCare with an acute flare-up (exacerbation) of asthma. The overall goal is to reduce the number of recurring visits to OSF PromptCare and the OSF St. Joseph Emergency Department for asthma, and instead, encourage patients to establish an ongoing asthma management plan with their primary care physician.

A recent grant from the OSF St. Joseph Foundation has allowed the medical center to purchase asthma education kits. Pediatric patients and parents will be educated on the proper technique and use of a peak flow meter, inhaler, spacer and diskus – whichever is prescribed. Nurses will facilitate this by showing patients short, educational videos that review the use of diskus inhalers, inhalers and the use of an inhaler with a spacer, as well as be given a demonstration on the proper use of medication with items from the asthma education kit.

OSF PromptCare physicians will also send pediatric patients home with an Asthma Action Plan, outlining how to manage asthma, recognize early signs or symptoms of an asthma attack and what to do during an exacerbation. Physicians and nurses will advise patients to follow-up with their primary care provider within three to five days following their OSF PromptCare visit to help reduce the number of recurring visits to OSF PromptCare and the Emergency Department for asthma.