Asthma TLC (Team Leaders in the Community) is a comprehensive asthma management program designed and implemented by the American Respiratory Alliance to create a village-like response to the needs of a child with asthma.

The program addresses the concerns shared by school nurses, parents, and physicians, and it is supported by grants from two committed state legislators, Senator Sean Logan, D-Allegheny/Westmoreland County, and Representative Mark Mustio, R-Allegheny County.  Since 2006, Asthma TLC has been implemented in 11 school districts and 67 elementary and middle schools in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. The guiding theory of Asthma TLC is that while information about asthma is available, it is not organized in a way that is conducive to focused disease management for a specific child. The goal of Asthma TLC is to supply the materials, education, and framework necessary to provide a tailored continuum of care for each child with asthma. The end result is that everyone interacting with that child (school nurse, parent or guardian, friend, and doctor) is capable of handling the specific needs of that child.

Working with participating schools, Asthma TLC provides the following elements:

• Comprehensive Student Asthma Action Plan
• School Nurse Respiratory Assessment Form
• Asthma in the Classroom
• Physical Signs of an Asthma Attack
• An Asthma Tool Kit
• Coordination by community asthma educators
  

Other program elements of Asthma TLC provide asthma awareness education and support to after school programs, participation in community-wide health fairs to increase parents’ knowledge of the program, and free smoking cessation clinics for people in these communities who want to quit. 

For more information on Asthma TLC or to get the program in your school district, please contact the American Respiratory Alliance at 1-800-220-1990.