Robin Hood helped create and fund the Harlem Children's Zone's Asthma Initiative that was praised on January 14 in The New York Times. Having found that the rate of asthma in children in Harlem is five times the national average, the initiative worked with children, families, and teachers to supply personalized medical care and education about the disease. In addition, lawyers were brought in to help with housing issues that exasperate asthma, such as mold, rodents, dust, and smoke.

The initiative has reduced emergency room visits, nearly eliminated overnight hospital stays, and dramatically decreased the number of school days missed due to illness. The results "show that aggressive intervention can not only help control the disease, but can also prove less expensive in the long run."

Harlem Children's Zone is a community-building program that is designed to create opportunities for all children living in a 100-block area of Central Harlem through strong education, social service, and health delivery systems. Currently, about 45 percent of the residents living in a 24-block area of the zone earn less than $10,000 per year and the area's unemployment rate is at least twice the citywide average. Robin Hood has supported H.C.Z. and its numerous schools, programs and initiatives since 1991.

The New York Times
Friday, January 14, 2005

Program in City Reduces Cases and Costs of Asthma
By Marc Santora

An ambitious program to treat childhood asthma in central Harlem has been successful in significantly reducing the need for emergency room visits and virtually eliminating overnight hospital stays for sick children, according to a report to be issued today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

...The estimated cost of treating people with asthma under the age of 18 is $3.2 billion a year, according to the report. Treatment is most expensive when children must go to the hospital because their asthma has gotten out of control, so the program's reduction in emergency room visits and overnight hospital stays is viewed by many experts as an important success.

Eighteen months ago, 35 percent of children in the program reported going to the emergency room or making an unscheduled visit to a doctor for asthma treatment. Most recently, after the program of education and the use of medications, only 8 percent of children reported taking such action...

...The asthma initiative, which has an $890,000 budget this year, is largely financed by a grant from the Robin Hood Foundation.

Read the full article (available online for a week after publication):
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/14/nyregion/14asthma.html
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