The Pediatric Pulmonary Division is staffed by Board-Certified physicians and specially trained and skilled nurses.
The Pediatric Pulmonary Division provides pulmonary consultative services to children from newborn to 18 years of age. Pulmonary Function Testing, Bronchscopy and Sleep Study Interpretation are also provided. Office hours for Pediatric Pulmonary are Tuesday and Wednesday from 1 to 5 pm in Room 307 of the Community Health Center (Main Building).
The Division has established a program entitled “Breathe Right! One Child at a Time”. This program teaches children and their parents how to live with asthma, how to prevent an attack and how to deal with an attack when it presents itself. To manage asthma effectively, it is important that children and their families know what asthma is and how the different medications and delivery devices work. Asthma is a disease that cannot be cured, but with the proper medical care, it can be controlled, permitting the patient to live a healthy and productive life.
Asthma remains one of the leading health problems among children in New York City. This is especially true for poor, minority, and medically underserved populations who experience greater prevalence, morbidity, and mortality from this disease. Moreover, research findings indicate that asthma is under diagnosed in minority children by as much as 50%. In New York City overall, approximately 17% of children ages 0 to 17 have asthma. In some parts of the Central Brooklyn and East New York, for example, the incidence of childhood asthma ranges is 20-30%; according to the City Department of Health; approximately 15% or 1 in 6 children entering school have asthma a number that is among the highest rates in New York and more than twice the national average.
A number of barriers contribute to inadequate and ineffective management of childhood asthma. One significant obstacle is the lack of a “medical home,” for many children, contributing to a reliance on episodic and emergency asthma care, rather than routine, comprehensive and coordinated care. Related to this is the inadequate utilization of maintenance medications, failure to prescribe appropriate medications and their incorrect use. The children are not able to have their medications administered while in school. High levels of exposure to indoor pollution present another problem for inner-city children, where buildings often have poor ventilation, high allergen levels, pests, dust mites, and other triggers make things worst. |
