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Sample Hospital Newsletter Release
Fill-in-the-blank:
Contact: ______________________ (RC Dept Contact)
___________________ (phone #, email)
Representatives Of The Respiratory Care Department at __________________ (Facility Name) and the American Association for Respiratory Care Initiate Local School Asthma Management/Awareness Program
(Appropriate Date) ______________________
Respiratory care professionals from the respiratory care department at _____________ (Hospital or Institution) announced today the initiation of Peak Performance USA/________________ (City Name), a local school asthma awareness and management campaign, supported by Monaghan Medical Corporation, Forest Laboratories, Inc., and Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The American Association for Respiratory Care-sponsored program offers Peak Performance USA asthma management support free-of-charge to local area schools. The program provides school asthma management support and information, peak flow meters, valved holding chambers, and public education material about asthma to school nurses, in addition to guidance from __________________(City Name/Institution) respiratory care practitioners.
According to ____________, ____________ (position) of respiratory care, more than nine million children under the age of 18 and 5.6 million ages 5–17 have asthma. Studies indicate that asthma is one of the the leading causes of school absences due to illness. Children miss nearly fifteen million school days a year due to asthma.
“Unfortunately, despite recent advances in medical knowledge about the condition, the prevalence of asthma continues to be a national health problem,” commented ________________(same respiratory care professional).
Asthma can be controlled. Use of a peak flow meter, like the one provided by Peak Performance USA, helps in monitoring students with asthma. Children with asthma often have acute episodes of breathing problems such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. The cause for these episodes is an over sensitivity of the lungs' airways resulting in overreaction to certain triggers. These triggers may include air pollution, allergies, colds or flu, animals, smoke, weather changes or emotional stress, among other things.
“Asthma education, and school staff monitoring of these children, can improve their quality of life and school performance. The American Association for Respiratory Care developed Peak Performance USA as a way to help in the delivery of this education and management at school,” continued _______________ (same contact). ________________ (City Name) School nurses and other administrative staff may obtain additional information, support, and Peak Performance USA materials, by contacting the respiratory care department at __________________ (telephone/email), visiting the Internet at www.PeakPerformanceUSA.info, or calling the American Association for Respiratory Care at (972) 243-2272.