The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Region selected the Community Asthma Prevention Plus Program (CAPP+) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as its first-ever Asthma Community Champion.
The award recognizes the program’s work in asthma management in low-income communities in West and Southwest Philadelphia where one in four children live with asthma. CAPP+ provides free home repairs to reduce asthma triggers like mold, pests and dust and improve the quality of life for children with asthma and their families.
“Through the CAPP+ Home Repairs program, we are committed to addressing the root causes of asthma disparities in our families’ homes,” Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, Director and Founder of CHOP’s Community Asthma Prevention Program and Senior Director of Health Equity, said in a press release. “Through CAPP+, we partner with minority-owned contracting companies to eliminate asthma triggers, with the goal of also reducing emergency department visits and hospital stays.”
CAPP+ is an extension of CHOP’s Community Asthma Prevention Program which sends community health specialists to the the homes of children with asthma to teach caregivers how to reduce asthma triggers and properly administer medicine. According to the CHOP website, these interventions have reduced asthma-related emergency room visits by 50%. The program also offers free asthma education classes at community sites in the city.
CAPP+ is funded through CHOP’s Healthier Together Initiative which works to improve the lives of children in West and Southwest Philadelphia through addressing social determinants of health including behaviors, socioeconomic factors and environmental factors.
