Los Angeles Times Examines King/Drew Medical Center’s Asthma Camp
The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday looked at an "asthma camp" sponsored by Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center that incorporates "camp staples" such as arts and crafts and swimming with study halls, writing workshops and science classes as part of an effort to increase the likelihood of children receiving adequate asthma treatment. Dr. Larry Robinson, director of the allergy and immunology division at King/Drew and founder of the program, said it operates under the assumption that children are more likely to receive proper asthma treatment if they can read well, the Times reports. Robinson said, "Asthma education without literacy wasn't working. We want kids to understand what their health care needs are, and we want them to be good students. The hope is for them to get a good job one day and have health insurance." Forty-two children this week participated in the camp at the University of California-Santa Barbara (Hymon, Los Angeles Times, 7/7).
King/Drew's asthma program "gives new meaning to the words 'teaching hospital,'" a Times editorial states. The editorial concludes that the hospital's effort to teach children how to manage asthma "is an example of what the troubled medical center can accomplish and why it's so important to fix the management and other problems that have kept it from doing more" (Los Angeles Times, 7/9).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.