Breathing - It's something everyone takes for granted
For a child with asthma, breathing is a precious thing that they have learned to appreciate every day. Sometimes catching a breath becomes difficult even when a child is simply playing in their own home. The air may have something in it—an irritant or contaminant that is causing their breathing difficulties and parents may not even know it.
Children's Mercy Wants to Help
At Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics (CMH) we understand the effects of a wide range of respiratory irritants and believe it is essential to find out what they are and where they are coming from indoors. We want to help you develop an action plan for getting rid of indoor environmental problems so that (1) your children can breathe more easily and (2) you can be confident that you are doing everything possible to make your home a healthy place for them.
A Unique Program in Our Region
The Environmental Health Program at CMH is the only one like it in the Midwest. We provide indoor environmental assessment services and education for the families of our patients and patients referred to CMH. The Environmental Health Program is part of the Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Section. The primary role of the program is to identify and reduce environmental exposures that are causing or exacerbating respiratory health problems in children that often result in increased emergency room use, clinic visits, doctor visits, and medicine use, as well as time away from school and home, and lost time from work for parents.
Indoor Environmental Health Assessments
Through our Environmental Health Program, we offer indoor environmental health assessments using some of the best technology available. We look for clues in the home in order to identify to the sources of potential environmental health problems in indoor spaces. We carefully evaluate all of the components that make homes livable, and on occasion, make them sick. The routine environmental health assessment includes three areas of investigation: a visual walk-through and assessment of building and mechanical components; an evaluation of indoor air quality through on-site measurements; and environmental sampling and laboratory analyses of air, and/or dust samples for environmental allergens and irritant particles.
The goal of these assessments is to provide families, as well as the healthcare professionals they are working with, accurate and objective information about the health of their home, gathered in a systematic and uniform way so that any potential environmental exposures can be identified. We use this information to help families develop a plan of action for eliminating the sources of problems with the goal of providing relief from an often perpetual cycle of illness and health problems.
Let Us Help Your Family
If you believe your child is exhibiting breathing symptoms that appear to be related to the indoor environment at home or at school, call Erica Forrest at 816-983-6806 and she’ll make every effort to help you find the answers you need so you and your child can breathe easily.