Newsletter - February 2018Here's what's in this edition: |
Register now! The 2018 Annual Conference "Assembling the Puzzle of Asthma Education and Treatment" will take place on July 20-22, 2018, at the Arizona Grand Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. We have selected a resort this time (Arizona Grand Resort) which has numerous amenities including pools, waterslides, outdoor sports, golfing and more! Consider bringing your family and make it an end of the summer vacation trip as well!
There will be an amazing pharmacology preconference on Thursday, July 21st that will highlight asthma therapies in special populations. Speakers include Maureen George, Karen Gregory, Christine Wagner, Mona Tsoukleris and Michael Schatz. Dr. Schatz is the current editor- in- chief of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Practice and is an expert in asthma therapies during pregnancy. Dr. Schatz will also be speaking at the general meeting as well.
The annual meeting will also feature a panel of dynamic speakers from all over the country.
- Brian A. King, PhD, MPH, serves as the Deputy Director for Research Translation in the office of Smoking and Health at the CDC in Atlanta. He will be speaking on “Public Health Promise or Peril? The Rise of E-cigarettes and Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice.”
- Hannah Green works in Washington, DC, and is the Director of National Health Policy for the American Lung Association. She is coming to speak on the national Asthma Care Coverage Project.
- Christina Kang M.M., M.S., CCC is a speech-language pathologist from the Mayo Clinic who is presenting on the diagnosis and treatment of vocal cord dysfunction.
- Tonya Winders, MBA is the president and chief executive officer of the Allergy and Asthma Network. She will be discussing national advocacy initiatives.
- Randall Brown, MD, MPH, AE-C is a pulmonologist and director of Asthma and COPD Programs at the Center for Managing Chronic Disease at the University of Michigan. He will be addressing the clinical features and therapy of asthma/COPD overlap (ACOS).
- Leroy Graham, MD, FCCP is a pulmonologist and CEO of the asthma education advocacy program Not One More Life in Atlanta, Georgia. He will be presenting information of disparities and differential responses to asthma treatment.
- Mona Tsoukleris, MS, PharmD is an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice & Science (PPS) at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. She will be leading an interactive discussion about patient engagement in asthma therapies at the pharmacy.
- Mansel Nelson, MS, is the senior Program Coordinator for the Tribal Environmental Education Outreach Program (TEEOP) at Northern Arizona University. He will highlight programs utilizing home visits, healthy homes initiatives and improved indoor air quality to enhance Native American Respiratory Health.
In 2018, AAE celebrates its 20th year! What started off as an idea among a group of asthma educators and colleagues to fill a need has now grown into the preeminent asthma education organization in the country. We could not have done this without the innovative vision of the founding members, and the tireless efforts of all of you through the years to advance our organization’s mission to improve asthma education. Founding Members:
Some of the founding members discuss how and why the organization was founded: Kathleen Ellis, PhD, ARNP, MSN, MHA, FAAAAI, AE-C Past President Many of the "Founding Members" had known each other for decades as colleagues at the AAAAI, ACAAI and ATS. We had been talking about writing a curriculum for asthma educators for many years. At many of these annual meetings we would get together to discuss this and had drafted a curriculum. At the time, we thought we could house our group under the umbrella of AAAAI, or ACAAI, for example. As I look back we not only wanted their Imprimatur, but we wanted to be collegial. Several physicians, may they rest in peace, looked over our work, and suggested it may be more expeditious to strike out on our own, collaborating with our physician colleagues. We had already decided, "Just do it." Since we wanted our group to be diverse, we hoped to include all disciplines who worked with clients with asthma. So we invited respiratory therapists as founders and quickly added other groups such as pharmacists and social workers that we met later. This meeting was planned quickly! We had a zero budget. We met at my home, people used miles to get here and there was a lot of role reversal. Dr. E. Ellis volunteered to be in charge of transportation and culinary services (translation he ordered out). People came that some of us did not know, and that was fine, as we were trying to be inclusive, and our common denominator was "asthma education." We got a lawyer pro bono, we all put $250.00 in and here we are 20 years later. The growth in every way has exceeded my expectations, as well as many of the founders, I am sure. See us at a cocktail event and we’ll tell you the funny stories of running AAE in our home offices with a fax machine and other growing pains we had, but it was well worth it! | Christine Wagner, RN, MSN, CPNP, FNP-BC, AE-C, Past President January 30th, 1998, started the weekend that started AAE. Actually it started a few months earlier during a dinner in Arizona when Pat Musto sat next to the above mentioned attorney, the wife of an allergist. The Founding Mothers (yes, that’s right) had been discussing a professional organization for Asthma Educators for at least a year. A proposal was submitted to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology to start an organization under the AAAAI banner, but ultimately it was decided that we would create our own organization. So having found a lawyer who was willing to do pretty much pro bono work for use to set up the 501c3 we decided to meet at the Ellis home to form the organization. Each founding member contributed $250 to start the organization and we received a generous grant from the publishing company Meniscus. That weekend we developed our mission statement, set our goals and elected officers. AAE was up and running! Maureen George PhD RN AE-C FAAN AAE, Past President You may have been asking yourself, "How did the AAE get into the business of offering a prep course for the asthma certification exam anyway?" In 2000, after the first board of the National Asthma Educator Certification Board (NAECB) was seated the AAE, a stakeholder in that process, recognized the need for candidate preparation. Wanting to insure that the course was written by certified asthma educators, we waited for the first NAECB exam to be offered in 2001 and then used faculty who has passed the exam to develop and deliver the pilot courses, something that makes us uniquely different than other organizations offering review courses: the AAE course was written and delivered by certified asthma educators. With the faculty identified, I took the lead in securing a $100,000 grant from GlaxoSmithKline which was shared equally by AAE, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and the United Kingdom’s National Respiratory Training Centre (NRTC - now Education for Health) who had recently entered the US market. This grant provided support for national asthma educator experts from the three non-profit organizations to develop content and then deliver two free pilot prep courses one held in Boston and the other in Arizona. The programs attracted a great deal of local support, were well attended and well-reviewed. At the end of the partnership, AAFA decided to focus their future efforts on their proprietary 3-hour guideline-based asthma training for allied health professionals and NRTC decided to focus on developing live spirometry courses and on adapting their proprietary distance learning asthma educator course to a US audience (NRTC has since ceased operating in the US and AAFAs live program has been moved to a virtual platform). This left the template for the prep course with the AAE. Since then the AAE has continually updated and refined the course, and added complementary courses like Becoming an Asthma Educator/Care Manager and the Community Health Worker training in asthma, as well as durable products like manuals, self-study materials and webinars. And it all began with AAE members who had a passion for asthma education. AAE has come a long way over the years, but there is still more work to be done. Contact AAE to learn how you can get involved. admin@asthmaeducators.org |
We would like to welcome and thank those serving on the AAE’s executive board in 2018.Their dedication, enthusiasm and expertise will greatly benefit our organization.
| The CDC just released "Vital Signs: Asthma in Children — United States, 2001–2016."This document states that,
Read the full document at: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6705e1.htm?s_cid=mm6705e1_e | Thinking about taking the AE-C exam?Consider applying for the E. Ellis Scholarship. This scholarship has been created by the founding members of AAE in memory of Elliot F. Ellis, MD. The scholarship is available to AAE members in good standing who are seeking to obtain certification as a certified asthma educator (AE-C) through the National Asthma Education Certification Board. The scholarship helps cover the cost of the exam. More information and the application can be found on the E. Ellis Scholarship Application page. |
Please help us congratulate Lorene Alba, AE-C, on being nominated for an AAE Asthma Advocate Award.Lorene is a Certified Asthma Educator and specializes in teaching clinicians and educators NHLBI asthma guideline-based care. She developed the “Asthma Management Academy”, an educational series focused on the unique learning needs of community health workers that conduct in-home asthma interventions. She has also worked on development of patient education materials. Lorene serves on the editorial team and as a content contributor for Asthma.net. She has presented her work at major conferences such as American Public Health Association and the Association of Asthma Educators. We thank Lorene for her dedication and service. Consider nominating someone to receive an Asthma Advocates of the Month award. If you know anyone doing meaningful asthma work of any kind, you can nominate that person to receive this recognition. The recipient does not have to be an active member of the AAE. If you would like to nominate someone, please email srollins@oklahomaallergy.com with the person’s name, email address and a few sentences on why he/she deserves this recognition. |
VolunteerIn order to continue our important work, the AAE needs members to serve on the following committees and projects:
Please contact us at admin@asthmaeducators.org if you are interested in participating or want more information on how to get involved! | QVAR UpdateAs an important partner, Teva Respiratory wanted to make you aware of the upcoming launch of QVAR® RediHaler™ (beclomethasone dipropionate HFA) Inhalation Aerosol, which will be available by prescription beginning on February 12, 2018. Teva will be discontinuing QVAR® (beclomethasone dipropionate HFA). Patients and caregivers are encouraged to speak with their doctors to learn more about how this discontinuation may affect their current treatment plans. Important limitation of use, QVAR® RediHaler™ is not indicated for the relief of acute bronchospasm. QVAR ® RediHaler ™ (beclomethasone dipropionate HFA) Inhalation Aerosol is indicated for the maintenance treatment of asthma as prophylactic therapy in patients 4 years of age or older. It contains the same small-particle medication as the currently-available QVAR®, but in a "spacer-free" design (do not use with a spacer). The inhaler no longer requires priming and in addition, it utilizes innovative “breath-actuated” inhaler technology to deliver the medicine, eliminating the need for hand-breath coordination. Prescribing information and additional details: http://hcp.qvar.com/ |
Call for Abstracts/ Project PostersThe Association of Asthma Educators invites submission of abstracts/project posters related to any aspect of diagnosis, care or education of asthma. The submissions will be peer reviewed by a conference committee panel, and selected authors of accepted abstracts/project posters will be invited to present a poster presentation at the Association of Asthma Educators’ annual conference in Phoenix, AZ at the Arizona Grand Resort from July 20-22, 2018. Three "top" submissions will be chosen for oral presentations during the conference agenda. Deadline for submissions: 4:00 PM EST April 6, 2018. Download submission information details (PDF). | Mylan: Aerospan UpdateMylan has announced the discontinuation of Flunisolide (Aerospan) Inhalation Aerosol. For more information: 1-800-496-9526 FDA Posting: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/drugshortages/dsp_ActiveIngredientDetails.cfm?AI=Flunisolide+%28Aerospan%29+Inhalation+Aerosol&st=d&tab=tabs-2 |
Nominations Are Now Being Accepted for the HUD Secretary’s Award for Healthy HomesThe U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), through its Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) and in partnership with the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), is accepting nominations for the annual HUD Secretary’s Award for Healthy Homes. HUD recognizes excellence in making indoor environments healthier through healthy homes research, education, and program delivery, especially in low- to moderate-income communities. The submission deadline is February 28, 2018, at 11:59:59 p.m. EST. Awards will be presented at the 2018 NEHA Annual Education Conference and HUD Healthy Homes Conference on June 27, 2018, in Anaheim, California. Get details and submission information by clicking here. |
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