NEW: EPA will hold three public hearings on the proposed updates to the national air quality standards for ground-level ozone (smog) on January 29, 2015 (Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Texas) and February 2, 2015 (Sacramento, CA). EPA estimates that the benefits of meeting the proposed standards will significantly outweigh the costs, preventing asthma attacks, heart attacks, missed school days and premature deaths, among other health effects.
	NEW: Apply for EPA’s 2015 National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management. Applications are due January 30, 2015, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Read about the 2004 winners: Peach State Health Plan, Atlanta, GA; Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA; and Multnomah County Health Department, Portland, OR.
	The Advocates' Toolkit: Making an Impact on Anaphylaxis! newly released by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) is a comprehensive guide to advocacy aimed to protect Americans at risk for severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). Use the Toolkit to learn more about volunteer advocacy, how laws are made, tips for sharing your personal story, communicating with legislators, building support with other advocates, and even speaking at public hearings without fear.
	NEW: CDC Awards Funding for Comprehensive Asthma Control. In September 2015, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded funds to 23 state health departments under the Funding Opportunity Announcement for “Comprehensive Asthma Control Through Evidence-based Strategies and Public Health—Health Care Collaboration” for a five-year period. These awards focus on strategies to provide asthma care, such as connecting the awardees with innovative health care partners to reach populations that are disproportionately impacted by asthma.
	NEW: Did you know that all 50 states now have self-carry laws for asthma and anaphylaxis medications? Some states also allow schools to stock emergency supplies of asthma and/or anaphylaxis medications. See the Allergy & Asthma Network’s state self-medication laws and state laws on stock epinephrine and the American Lung Association's Improving Access to Asthma Medication in Schools: Laws, policies, practices and recommendations to find out where your state stands on life-saving asthma and anaphylaxis medications in school.

Education and Training Resources:

	NEW: The Health & Environment Program from the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) offers resources for incorporating environmental health into health care provider practice and education in English and Spanish.
	Asthma Management and Education Online is a free self-paced continuing education (CE) program for allied health professionals from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Earn credits for learning about the NAEPP’s “Four Components of Asthma Management,” based on the latest clinical guidelines.
	NEW: Healthcare Financing of Healthy Homes. This new resource library from the National Center for Healthy Homes provides examples and strategies for financing home-based asthma programs and related services.
	NEW: Tools for your clinical practice from the Asthma Quality Improvement (QI) Learning Collaborative conducted by the Children’s National Health Network are available online.
	Put the key actions for controlling asthma into practice. See links to "Resources from National Asthma Control Initiative (NACI) partners" on this page at bottom right for helpful tools, trainings, and other resources for health care providers, schools, and patients.
	Building an Asthma Care Home─a 60-minute pre-recorded online professional education webinar─and other tools from the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved.
	Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes webpage from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development includes links to asthma-related healthy homes fact sheets, training programs, and outreach materials, including the Help Yourself to a Healthy Home booklet.
	Asthma Online Tool Kit from the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). NASN's tool kit includes online asthma continuing education and a Joint Statement on Improving Asthma Management in Schools recommending that, "All school systems should adopt and implement a comprehensive plan for the management of asthma that is based on current research and best practices." as well as, "...an environmental assessment and management plan that addresses environmental asthma triggers."

	Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE) program. Download and use PACE to improve communication and therapeutic techniques for managing asthma. PACE also provides instruction on how to document, code, and improve asthma counseling reimbursement. Developed by the University of Michigan Center for Managing Chronic Disease and Columbia University, the seminar has been found in two rigorous NHLBI-funded studies to improve asthma care and outcomes.
	Asthma Green Light Handbook for Childcare Providers (PDF: 36 pages, 3.99 MB) developed through a collaborative effort of DC DOH, UPO, and UDC through the Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI Project).
	Managing Asthma and Allergies in DC Schools: A Comprehensive Resource and Education Guide (PDF: 5,272 KB/228 pages) includes relevant laws, sample policies, and forms; guidance for emergency management of asthma and anaphylaxis; and recommendations, checklists, and classroom posters.

Reducing Environmental Asthma Triggers (RETA) in the Home online training from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Reports and Studies:

	Making Sense of Childhood Asthma: Lessons for Building a Better System of Care, a report from the Urban Institute released in April 2014, highlights findings from a qualitative exploratory study about asthma care for low-income African American and Latino children age 4–14 in Washington, DC. It describes three major problems: (1) poor communication among caregivers, providers, and other stakeholders;(2) inadequate access to both the quality and quantity of care needed to manage a child's asthma; and (3) scarce long-term support to address both the social-emotional and financial burdens created by managing a chronic childhood illness.
	State of the Air 2014 report from the American Lung Association. In addition to city rankings and trend charts, you can type in your zip code to see the grades in your county, city, and state.
	Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help parents and administrators and staff of schools and early care and education programs to develop or strengthen plans for food allergy management and prevention.
	A recent Journal of Asthma article reports that caregivers rarely use proper technique when giving their child asthma medication, putting their child at risk for poor outcomes, according to new research from The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. For tips on using asthma medications and devices, visit Resources for Families from IMPACT DC at Children's National Health System.
	A recent CDC study shows that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), even in small amounts, adversely affects children with asthma. The analysis of 2003-2010 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that more than half (53.3%) of nonsmoking children aged 6 to 19 years with asthma were exposed to ETS. Among children with asthma 6 to 11 years of age, ETS exposure was associated with most adverse outcomes.

Data:

	Need local data? Partners? Visit DC Health Matters!, a one-stop resource for online access to asthma and other community health indicators. The portal also facilitates collaborations among community-based organizations and researchers. The portal is maintained by the District of Columbia Healthy Communities Collaborative, a data-driven collaborative of local D.C. hospitals and Federally-Qualified Health Centers.
	D.C.'s 2013 Community Health Needs Assessment for the District of Columbia identifies asthma, along with obesity, mental health, substance abuse, and sexual health, as priority areas for improving the health of D.C.'s residents. The report, sponsored by the District of Columbia Healthy Communities Collaborative, was conducted by the RAND Corporation.
	Top Asthma Capitals™ for 2014 from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
	Asthma Surveillance in DC Emergency Departments: 2002-2011. Data for children, adults, and seniors from IMPACT DC.
	Asthma Data Brief: CDC's "Trends in Asthma Prevalence, Health Care Use, and Mortality in the United States, 2001–2010" (May 12, 2012).
	Asthma State Profiles detail the burden of asthma in the 36 states and territories funded by CDC’s National Asthma Control Program.
	Asthma Hospitalizations in the National Capital Region, 2004-2006 (PDF: 10 pages/798 KB) developed collaboratively by the District of Columbia Department of Health and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

DC Asthma Resources:
DC Strategic Asthma Plan: 2009-2013 (PDF: 55 pages/4.6 MB)	DOH-endorsed DC Asthma Action Plan (English and Spanish) and DC DOH Anaphylaxis Action Plan (PDF: 1.3 MB/4 pages)
Managing Asthma and Allergies in DC Schools: A Comprehensive Resource and Education Guide	DC School Asthma/Anaphylaxis Emergency Poster endorsed by DOH and DC Public Schools (PDF: 311 KB/1 page)
A Guide to Good Asthma Care brochure (PDF: 2 MB/2 pages) free to copy or reprint.	A+ LIFE© (Asthma Learning Is For Everyone)©, a fun, family education program.

	Kids With Food Allergies (KFA) educates families and communities with practical food allergy management strategies to save lives and improve the quality of life for children and their families. It also offers the largest online support community for families raising children with food allergies and it's free! KFA is a division of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).
	Visit the Resources for Families page from IMPACT DC at Children's National Health System for instructions and video on how to use asthma medications and devices.
	Learn more about participating in clinical research at the NIH Clinical Research Trials and You Web site.

Watch or order the Respirar es vida" ("A Breath of Life") video from the NHLBI to learn how Jose, his parents, doctor, nurse, promotora (community health educator), teacher, school nurse, and coach join forces to help Jose control his asthma. The video is recorded in Spanish and captioned in English and Spanish.

Did you know that tobacco smoke can trigger a life-threatening asthma attack? Get free resources from www.smokefree.gov or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or in Spanish: 1-855-DÉJELO-YA.

School Resources:

Download or order Asthma & Physical Activity in the School from the NHLBI.

	Download CDC's Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies in Schools and Early Care and Education Centers, developed in fulfillment of the 2011 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act to improve food safety in the United States.
	Get EPA's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Action Kit and learn how to promote a healthy learning environment at your school to reduce absenteeism, improve test scores, and enhance student and staff productivity.

More Tools and Resources:

Resources from National Asthma Control Initiative (NACI) partners:

	The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) offers Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit for its approved Asthma Self-Assessment Module (Part II‒Lifelong Learning) and an Asthma Practice Improvement Module (PIM).
	Asthma and Allergy Toolkit - National Medical Association
	Asthma Guideline Implementation Steps & Tools (GIST) - Michigan Department of Community Health
	ASTHMA IQ for Primary Care CME and Maintenance of Certification - American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
	Clinician CME and Patient Videos - National Asthma Campaign
	Great American Asthma Challenge - Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics
	Pediatric Asthma Initiative - National Environmental Education Foundation
	Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE) - Center for Managing Chronic Disease, University of Michigan
	Applying the Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE) Program to Underserved Communities - University of California, San Francisco
	Spirometry 360 Training and Feedback Program - University of Washington
	Tools for Effective Asthma Management in Schools - Los Angeles Unified School District

NACI project findings are featured in the Fall 2012 NACI In the Know eNewsletter.

The NAEPP's Guidelines Implementation Panel Report has six key actions to help put the NAEPP's asthma guidelines into practice.

June 2012: Coordinated Federal Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Asthma Disparities.