Our school base health center at South Avondale has a success story regarding a patient whom we have managed since the 2nd grade. When we took over his care, he had a history of uncontrolled asthma along with poor medication adherence, multiple ED visits and a couple of admissions every year. We knew that taking his inhaler at home was not a reliable option so we worked with the school nurse and had him start taking his maintenance inhaler at school. We immediately saw a decline in his ED visits and his exacerbations. He continued to take his inhaler at school through the 6th grade.
Year after year we continued to educate him regarding his asthma and how he could make a difference in his health. Gradually, he started to make a difference in his health; he avoided his triggers, took his maintenance inhaler on a regular basis and could notice the early warning signs of having issues with his asthma. We got him involved in the asthma summer camp each year. He currently is 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. His asthma is well controlled he is able participate in marching band which he plays the trumpet. His last ED visit for asthma is in 2014. He also makes regular visits for asthma follow ups and will make his own appointment if he has increase need for his SABA inhaler. This is a great example how SBHC can make a difference in children’s lives.