From Executive Director John P. Rupp:

I am proud to announce that Breathe Pennsylvania has been named as a recipient of the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations' Standards for Excellence® accreditation program. This accreditation illustrates our commitment to upholding the principles and practices of the Standards for Excellence®: an Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector, which evaluates honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, trust, responsibility, and accountability in nonprofit program operations, governance, human resources, financial management, and fundraising. For nearly two years, Breathe Pennsylvania’s Board of Directors and staff worked tirelessly to achieve this accreditation. The Standards for Excellence® seal represents our organizations’ diligence and commitment to transparency and accountability to our community and donors. For over a century, we have been providing our community with critical lung disease education and services. We work every day to help Western Pennsylvanians breathe better and live healthier. We want our donors, as well as the community-at-large, to understand our commitment to our mission and the level of integrity at which we operate.

This accreditation is what we hope will be the first of many big announcements in the year ahead. Our staff has been planning for the last few months to create new and innova-tive educational opportunities for patients and the healthcare community. Inside you will find information on our new School Asthma In-Service being offered this fall. This issue of Fresh Air also serves as our annual thank you to our donors. Without them, we could not have provided the critical assistance and support to patients this past year. To date, we have provided more than $76,000 in financial patient assistance, and served more than730 individuals through our educational programs. Looking ahead, the 2016-17 fundraising theme is “Assistance where needed, education always”. Our Annual Fund goal is to raise $50,000 by June 30, 2017. Donations starting at $25 can help a patient attend or extend their time at pulmonary rehabilitation, and $50 can provide medication for a lung disease patient. Please know that whatever you give, it makes a difference. Every dollar donated to us is reinvested directly back into our community. Please help someone breathe better this year!

Asthma Management Tips for Early Learning

Practitioners: Parent/Teacher Communication

By: Jeannie Simms, Senior Director of Asthma and Education

Programs

What does asthma feel like? To better understand what a pre-

schooler is experiencing when having an asthma attack at your

center, try this demonstration: Take a drinking straw, place it in

your mouth, pinch your nose shut and breathe through the straw

for 60 seconds.

If a child is experiencing an asthma attack, the first step of action is

to use a rescue albuterol inhaler or nebulizer. However, parents

sometimes don’t provide the medication, which can be trouble-

some once an asthma attack occurs.

Lack of medication is one of the many barriers that can interfere

with an early learning practitioner’s ability to properly handle a

child’s asthma attack. Others include:

Inability to contact parents

Need for asthma education for staff

Lack of an asthma action plan that addresses exercise/activity

Lack of proper equipment such as a nebulizer, adequate

tubing, and inhalers with spacers

The best place to start is to create a partnership of care with your

student’s family. Work with them to ensure that basic asthma edu-

cation; support for teaching the child self-management skills; or

referrals to outside agencies for education, materials, and other

resources are available to them.

If you are looking for an educational program that addresses

asthma in the classroom, Breathe Pennsylvania offers a two- to

three-hour asthma training for early learning practitioners. For

more information, contact me at jsimms@breathepa.org.

Over the next couple of months, we wil l be outlining

asthma management tips and strategies to help early

learning practitioners better serve preschool -aged

children.

School Nurse Asthma Training Alert!

Breathe Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing are collaborating to present a pediatric asthma training: Current Asthma Classifications/Treatment Guidelines and Breath Sounds Training.

Participants successfully completing this training will be awarded a maximum of three (3) continuing nursing education contact hours. The University of Pittsburgh is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC Pro-vider Number 0229).

Breathe Pennsylvania recognizes how difficult it sometimes is for all school nurses within a district to attend this type of training. With this in mind, Jessica Schuman, RN, BSN and Jeannie Simms, Senior Director of Asthma and Education, will arrange to come to you, making it possible for all nurses within a district to have an opportunity to attend and receive the CEUs.

The cost for this three-hour CEU training is $10.00 per nurse. The training will help to define asthma best practice in school procedure and policy. The program objectives are:

Explain the four asthma classifications and which medications are used for each classification.

Describe Aerosol Drug Delivery Systems, the difference between rescue and controlling medications, and demon-strate proper technique using a spacer.

Identify and interpret four abnormal breath sounds and how to respond.

Demonstrate how to use a peak flow meter and how to establish green/yellow/red zones for proper asthma management.

Please contact Jessica Schuman at jschuman@breathepa.org for further details. Space is limited so set up your training today!

Classroom Clean-up

for Students With Asthma

By: Jessica Schuman, RN, BSN, Director of Asthma Education

and Programs

Back-to-school season is here again!

While the first day of school can be so exciting, classrooms

that sat closed up for months might provoke an asthma

attack. When focusing on classroom clean up and set up,

please keep students with allergies and asthma in mind.

These simple tips can keep your classroom healthier for

students with asthma:

1. Keep the classroom free of clutter, which can accumulate

dust and dust mites.

2. Make sure air supply vents are properly working and are

not blocked.

3. Don’t cover up smells. The scents from oil wall plugins,

room deodorizers and candles can trigger asthma very

quickly. If there is a smell in the room, figure out where it is

coming from.

4. Contact the custodian for stained ceilings or walls. It might

indicate that there is a water leak, increasing the chance for

the presence of mold or mildew.

5. Limit the use of area rugs. If you have some, make sure

they are cleaned weekly.

6. Store any supplies in clear plastic containers and avoid

using cardboard boxes. Cardboard can be an invitation for

pests to build a home.

Proper classroom clean up and set up will eliminate allergy

and asthma triggers, allowing all students to have a great

first day—and a great school year.

Let’s Talk About The Weather & COPD! By: Marianne Drevna, BS, LRCP, Direct of Adult Lung Health and Programs

Most people with chronic lung diseases know that extremes in temperature, meaning below freezing or above 90 degrees, can trigger exacerbations. Three factors can impact your ability to breathe in the summer—heat, sunlight and humidity.

When it’s hot, your body overworks as it tries to stay cool. You sweat more, which can cause dehydration and shortness of breath as a result.

Sunlight creates certain chemical reactions with pollutants in the air that cause an increase in ozone. This can result in difficulty breathing, irritation to your nose and throat, coughing, and wheezing.

High humidity levels can make it even harder to catch your breath. Warm air holds more moisture than cold air, reducing the amount of oxygen present. As humidity increases, the denser air is much more difficult to breathe if you have chronic lung issues.

It can be frustrating, but there’s plenty that you can do to help alleviate your symptoms during hot summer days:

Avoid the heat. Stay in an air conditioned place as much as possible.

Stay out of the sun, especially from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. when it’s the hottest.

Reduce strenuous activity. This does NOT mean you can skip your pulmonary rehab, though. Rehab will help, even during hot days.

Drink cold water and avoid alcohol because it can cause dehydration.

Eat normally, but separate meals into smaller portions, lower your salt intake, and try cold foods like fruits and vegetables.

Use a handheld fan or a large fan. Don’t point a large fan directly at your face because they can get very dusty.

Summer is an opportunity to relax, so take it easy when it’s hot and humid out—and stay cool!

Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine No Longer Recommended for the 2016-2017 Flu Season By: Joan McMahon, RN, MPH, TB Service Educator

People who have preferred to use live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), or more popularly known as the “nasal spray” flu vaccine, might want to think twice about doing so this flu season.

The Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted in June 2016 that LAIV should not be used during the 2016-2017 flu season following the release of preliminary data indicating that among study children ages 2 years through 17 years, LAIV was found to be only 3 percent effective against flu viruses. In comparison, flu shots had a 63 percent effectiveness rate in a same age study population. ACIP continues to recommend annual flu vaccination with either inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) or recombinant influenza vaccine (RIV) for everyone ages 6 months and older.

Both CDC and ACIP had preferentially recommended the nasal vaccine for young children during the 2014-2015 flu season.

Vaccine manufacturers had projected that as many as 171-176 million doses of flu vaccine, in all forms, would be available in the United States during the 2016-2017 season. LAIV is currently the only non-injection flu vaccine available on the market. The ACIP’s June vote may have implications for pediatricians and providers who have already placed vaccine orders, since data from recent seasons suggests that nasal spray flu vaccine has accounted for about one-third of all flu vaccines given to children. The CDC will be working with vaccine manufacturers throughout the summer to assure that there is enough injectable vaccine supply to meet the demand.

CDC regularly conducts vaccine effectiveness studies. This ACIP vote demonstrates the importance of measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of public health interventions and changing public health policy, when necessary, to assure that the population’s health is optimally protected. Before this ACIP recommendation becomes official CDC policy, it must be reviewed and approved by CDC’s director. The final annual recommendations on the prevention and control of influenza will be published in a CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) in late summer or early fall of 2016.

E-Cigarette Regulations: What Do They Mean? By: Carla A. Conrad, MS-RRT-NPS, Program Coordinator & Director of

Tobacco Cessation and Education Programs

On August 8, 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took its

first steps toward regulating electronic cigarettes, making them

subject to extensive review and harder to get into the hands of

minors.

So, why does the FDA have the authority to regulate these products?

In 2009, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and

Tobacco Control Act into law. Commonly known as the “Tobacco

Control Act”, this law gave the FDA the ability to ban tobacco product

sales to minors, tobacco-brand sponsorships at sports and

entertainment events, and giveaways of sample cigarettes and

promotional items. In early 2016, the FDA extended its authority over

electronic cigarettes and hookahs.

What do these regulations mean?

All vaping products currently on the market will be required to

submit a premarket approval application to stay on the market.

Manufacturers must submit ingredient lists and quantities of

harmful and potentially harmful ingredients. This includes vape

shops that mix their own e-cigarette liquids and modify parts of

e-cigarettes.

Vaping shops must check a photo ID of everyone younger than 27

and sell to only people who are 18 or older.

Products must be labeled with the following statement:

“WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an

addictive chemical.”

At Breathe Pennsylvania, we are glad that a regulatory body is

stepping in to prevent minors from easily accessing these products.

Last year, 16% of high schoolers used e-cigarettes, up from 1.5% in

2011. We have been working with Pennsylvania state legislators to

encourage the passage of tighter restrictions, and despite our efforts,

the state of Pennsylvania was only one of two states without some

form of regulations before the FDA stepped in.

Thank you to our donors! Annual Donors July 2015-June 2016

Mr. Michael Accetta

Mr. Robert Aiken

Ms. Carol Jean Albaugh

Mr. Clarence Allman

Mr. & Mrs. Chad Amond

Mrs. Linda Anderson

Mr. & Mrs. William Andrews

Anonymous

Mr. & Mrs. James Asmonga

Ms. Betty Bailey

Mr. Thomas Baker

Mr. Joseph Balkunowa

Ms. Norma Barker

Ms. Ellie Barovitch

Mr. & Mrs. Howard Beatty

Ms. Mary Bedekovich

Mr. James Bees

Ms. Louise Benjamin

Ms. Karen Bennett

Mr. Bernard Bernstein

Mr. Ronald Berrott

Ms. Agnes Billisits

Ms. Meredith Bittler

Mrs. Edith Blattner

Ms. Carol Bliss

Mr. Bernard Bloch

Mr. William Bodnar

Ms. Cheri Bodnar

Mrs. Jean Boehmig

Ms. Mary Bokelberg

Ms. Elizabeth Boring

Mr. Arthur Boring

Ms. Darlene Bourquin

Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Bowman

Ms. Vicy Boyd

Mr. Richard Brinker

Ms. Connie Britanik

Ms. Mary Brown

Ms. Faith Brown

Mr. & Mrs. William Burke

Ms. Dora Burkett

Mrs. Nancy Burkhart

Dr. Bruce Bush

Mr. John Busko

Mr. Charles Campagne

Ms. Ruth Cardilli

Mr. Kenneth Carion

Mr. Victor Catalano

Mrs. Judith Charlton

Mrs. Margaret O. Childs

Mr. William Chippich

Ms. Judy Ciripompa

Ms. Dorothy Clark

Mr. Lyman Cohen

Ms. Sally Conley

Mrs. Carla Conrad

Ms. Agnes Conway

Ms. Mary Corless

Mr. Roy Creek

Ms. March Creeks

Mrs. Stephanie Dabecco

Ms. Jacqueline Dalessandro

Mr. Robert Danehy

Ms. Elizabeth Danser

Mr. Thomas Dausch

Ms. Joan Davis

Mr. Donald Dean

Mr. Arthur Delano

Mrs. Helen Destefano

Mr. Norman Devine

Mr. Richard Dillon

Ms. Janet Donati

Mrs. Lillian Draskovich

Ms. Marianne Drevna

Ms. Carol Fausti

Mr. Jules Favand

Ssgt. Dennis Fielder

Mrs. Loretta Foiles

Ms. Lois Fry

Ms. Edna Gerner

Mrs. Eileen Gerneth

Mrs. Catherine Giallonardo

Mr. Donald Gill

Mr. Thomas Gillen

Mrs. Arleen Girty

Mr. Anthony Giunipero

Mrs. & Mrs. Stanley Gladysiewski

Mr. James Gnecco

Miss Helen Golob

Mrs. Margie Goodrum

Ms. Patricia Green

Mr. John Green

Mr. Joseph Gruzinski

Mr. Sheldon Haberman

Ms. Phyllis Hacke

Mrs. Kitty Hackenberg

Ms. Elizabeth Hand

Ms. Velma Hartman

Ms. Jacqueline Helkowski

Mr. & Mrs. James Hellman

Mr. Douglas Helms

Mr. Leo Henry

Ms. Wanda Hughes

Mr. & Mrs. Craig Hughes

Mrs. Katherine Hunter

Mrs. Teresa Hurley

Ms. Maryln Ignath

Mr. Charles Jameson

Mr. Nathaniel Jeffreys

Mr. Jerry Johnson

Ms. Diane Johnston

Ms. Diana Joseph

Mrs. Yvonne Kaczmarek

Mr. C. Kaltwasser

Mrs. Rita Kania

Mr. Ralph Keller

Ms. Ileen Kelly

Thank you to our donors! Annual Donors July 2015-June 2016

Mr. Edward Kemp

Mrs. Bella Kennelly

Mrs. Teresa Kerestes

Mr. James Kilddo

Mr. William Knell

Mr. James Kokoros

Ms. Maxine Kopiec

Ms. Ethel Koudela

Ms. Dorothy Kyslinger

Ms. Linda Lamb

Ms. Linda Larocka

Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Lingler

Ms. Irene Lobb

Ms. Carol Lofgren

Ms. Dale Massing

Mr. Edward Matus

Mrs. Lois McConnell

Mr. Kenneth McCurdy

Ms. Ellen McGuigan

Ms. Suzanne McLaren

Ms. Joan McMahon

Ms. Ruth McMutrie

Mr. Michael Menanno

Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Mengato

Ms. Nettie Menhart

Mr. John Mertz

Mrs. Deborah Miaczynski

Mr. George Miller

Mr. & Mrs. George Miller

Mrs. Thelma Miller

Ms. Judith Montgomery

Mr. James Moore

Mr. Vaughn Moreau

Mr. Robert Muny

Mr. & Mrs. John Musmanno

Ms. Loraine Nagy

Ms. Ellen Nestor

Mrs. Lillian Nicholl

Mr. Joe Notaro

Thank you to our donors! Annual Donors July 2015-June 2016

Ms. Vicky Novak

Mr. Gary Nowading

Ms. Darlene Opalko

Ms. Katherine Osele

Mr. William Otto

Mrs. Elizabeth Overfield

Ms. Barb Palazzolo

Ms. Janet Peterson

Ms. Donna Pike

Ms. Dolores Pjontek

Mrs. Betty Polley

Ms. Denise Qualye

Mr. James Reagan

Mr. Donald Rendulic

Mr. Joseph Rettger

Mr. & Mrs. Roland Reynolds

Ms. Barbara Ribar

Ms. Cathy Riggle

Mr. Charles Rittle

Mr. & Mrs. F. Brooks Robinson

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Rock

Ms. Mary Rodgers

Mr. Donald Rodgers

Ms. Linda Ruff

Mrs. Janet Rupp

Mr. & Mrs. John Rupp

Ms. Vicky Ruvo

Mr. Doug Salt

Mr. Steve Samek

Mr. Lawrence Sampietro

Mrs. Catherine Savani

Ms. Esther Sawyer

Ms. Marsha Schaer

Mr. William Schmidt

Mr. Joseph Schneider

Ms. Eleanor Schoenberger

Mr. J. Howison Schroeder

Mr. Robert Schwer

Ms. Marilyn Severance

Mr. Daniel Shively

Ms. Donna Shultz

Mrs. Jeannie Simms

Ms. Belynda Slaugenhaupt

Ms. Nancy Sleigher

Ms. Ann Slowey

Mr. Larry Smith

Mr. Clarence Smoyer

Ms. Joanne St. Pierre

Ms. Jacqueline Staggers

Mr. Patrick Stetar

Ms. Ann Stevenson

Mr. Jack Stile

Ms. Joanne Stone

Sister Leona Stumpf

Mrs. Frances Sullivan

Mrs. Jill Sussman

Mr. Lee Swift

Ms. Cynthia Tallerico

Mr. Robert Tappe

Mr. Angelo Taranto

Mr. Robert Thomas

Ms. Doris Thrush

Ms. Carol Tiberio

Mr. Lawrence Trozzo

Dr. Anthony VanNorman

Mr. Carl Vernon

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Vogel

Mrs. Roma Vose

Mr. John Walsh

Mr. Homer Walton

Ms. Anna Mae Warnick

Ms. Marilyn Webb

Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Wehar

Mr. Dwayne Weitzel

Dr. Sally Wenzel

Mr. Teri Whelan

Mr. Robert Winter

Mr. Edward Yakshe

Mr. Stanley Yopek

Dr. Nina Zetty

Mrs. Brittany Zuckerman

Dr. Myles Zuckerman

Our friends and partners at:

Blackburn’s Physicians Pharmacy

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

Lifeline Therapy

Linda Barnicot Publishing, LLC.

Lung and Wellness Centers

Phillips Respironics

Push 7

Rosedale Women’s Club

Rotary Club of Churchill

Rotary Club of Monroeville

Rotary Club of Turtle Creek

Rupp-Fiore

Southwestern PA Human Services, Inc.

The Pittsburgh Foundation

Save the Date!

_____________

September 21, 2016

The Pittsburgh Foundation

Day of Giving

Make your annual gift to Breathe Pennsylvania

through the Pittsburgh Gives website. The annual Day

of Giving is a perfect time to take part in a great

event that directly benefits Breathe Pennsylvania.

The minimum donation amount is $25, and all

donations need to be made online through The

Pittsburgh Foundation website.

Questions? Please contact Brittany Zuckerman,

Director of Development at 724.772.1750

or bzuckerman@breathepa.org.

Tobacco Cessation

Do you want to help your employees quit smoking?

If you answered yes to this question, you can get

trained in new methods of tobacco cessation by

registering for Breathe Pennsylvania’s Smoke-Free

for Life Facilitator Training program.

More information and 2016 training dates can be

found at www.breathepa.org.