EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Recognizes Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia With First Asthma Community Champion Award

On May 24, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Region’s Asthma Program announced the selection of the first-ever Asthma Community Champion-- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) Community Asthma Prevention Plus Program (CAPP+). 

EPA has been cultivating partnerships and promoting asthma awareness and education for decades.  To acknowledge the efforts and progress of these partners, the agency created the “Asthma Community Champion” to recognize important work in asthma management. 

The CAPP+ Program is an extension of CHOP’s Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP), which serves low-income and under-resourced communities in Philadelphia. 

Many communities in Philadelphia have high asthma prevalence and hospitalization rates – affecting approximately one out of four children in West Philadelphia alone, the primary focus of CAPP+.

“Asthma is a life-threatening respiratory disease that affects more than 20 million Americans, including more than 5 million children,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator Diana Esher.  “Given that this disease disproportionately affects African Americans and those below or near the poverty line, it represents one of the most serious environmental justice challenges in the United States today.”

The CAPP+ Program, a program under CHOP’s Healthier Together Initiative, is distinguished as an outstanding community-based organization that incorporates identification and remediation of environmental triggers. 

The program provides extensive in-home remediation services that target mold, pest entry-points, and dust by way of roof repairs, fixing plumbing leaks, replacing carpeting with vinyl-plank flooring, and more – improving the quality of life for individuals with asthma and their families.

“CHOP’s CAPP Program is honored to receive this award from the EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region’s Asthma Program. Through the CAPP+ Home Repairs program, we are committed to addressing the root causes of asthma disparities in our families’ homes,” said Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, Director and Founder of CHOP’s Community Asthma Prevention Program and Senior Director of Health Equity. “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.”

The CAPP+ program demonstrates leadership in providing exemplary environmental asthma management and makes life-altering changes to the lives and homes of Philadelphia families caring for children with asthma.

Click Here to view a storymap of CHOP’s Community Asthma Prevention Program.

[Posted: May 24, 2021]  PA Environment Digest