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Saint Elizabeth Foundation Receives $29,989 EPA Grant for Asthma Awareness Training Program in Lincoln, Neb.

Release Date: 10/11/2012
Contact Information: David W. Bryan, 913-551-7433, bryan.david@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., Oct. 11, 2011) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that the Saint Elizabeth Foundation in Lincoln, Neb., will receive $29,989 to address asthma. The funding is part of a combined $1.2 million in funding to 32 state and local governments, tribes, and non-profit organizations for indoor air quality projects across the nation.

The Saint Elizabeth Foundation will receive the money to fund classroom instructional training for in-home, daycare and preschool assessments for asthma triggers. The first part of the foundation’s approach will provide training on asthma and its triggers for health care providers including school nurses. The foundation will also provide multiple workshops on asthma for public health agencies, hospitals and other providers across the state. It will also work with other organizations to educate and train the elderly with asthma, including in-home assessments.

The funding will support recipients’ efforts to improve indoor air quality, which will better protect the health of Americans in classrooms, communities and homes across the country. EPA emphasized selecting projects that assist low-income and minority families that are disproportionately impacted by poor indoor air quality.

“EPA is proud to be working with our awardees across the nation to improve the air we breathe at school, work and home,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “American communities face serious health and environmental challenges from air pollution. This effort gives us an opportunity to improve indoor air quality by increasing awareness of environmental health risks.”

Indoor air pollutants in homes, buildings, and schools can negatively impact the health of occupants. Some pollutants cause health problems such as sore eyes, burning in the nose and throat, headaches or fatigue. Others can cause worsen allergies, respiratory illnesses (such as asthma) or even cancer (from radon gas).

The projects will help improve indoor air quality and reduce the associated health risks by:

• Increasing effective indoor air quality practices through community-level education and outreach
• Promoting positive indoor air quality management practices in schools by working with school districts and teachers
• Increasing the number of homes tested for radon, homes built with radon-resistant features, and existing homes mitigated for radon
• Creating awareness to reduce asthma triggers in the home and encourage the use of asthma management plans through community-based asthma programs