Peak Performance USA Makes it Easy to Make a Difference

January 21, 2009

AARC members get involved and make a difference each and every day of their lives. Now AARC has pulled together a program to make it even easier to influence the number of children who may get care for asthma, with the revitalization of a program originally launched in the 1990s.

Back then Peak Performance USA was a great way to get into the local schools to educate school staff about asthma. But back then, it was all paper-based.

Today PPUSA is back, and this time it’s 100% online. Featuring a host of multi-media materials, the newly revamped program invites school nurses, school staff, and RTs to apply for the program online. Once you’re matched up with a local school nurse, you can use the online materials to put together your presentation.

You’ll also receive a complimentary peak flow meter and valved holding chamber to use in the demonstration of proper monitoring and medication technique. This is for the school to keep.

The program is making its comeback not a moment too soon. “Nine million children have asthma, and 14.7 million school days are missed annually due to the condition,” says AARC President, Tim Myers, RRT-NPS. “Many of the school staff, and all of the kids, that we reached in the ’90s have moved on. It’s time to reach a new generation of staff and children.”

Mary Hart, RRT, AE-C, and Patrick Dunne, MEd, RRT, FAARC, who helped the AARC update the program to reflect the latest EPR-3 asthma guidelines from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, couldn’t agree more. “Asthma is still one of the top childhood diseases identified by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and even with all the medications and devices to treat asthma that are available today we still have kids going to the emergency room on a regular basis,” says Hart.

“Since asthma disproportionately affects children and adolescents, PPUSA will help ensure that schoolchildren get the proper treatment for asthma, which hopefully will translate to fewer lost schooldays,” notes Dunne.

The web site has everything you need to make that happen—including a step-by-step instruction guide for starting a program and lots of great information for the school staff and patients/families you’ll be serving.

The New Year is a great time to re-commit to community service, and PPUSA provides a wonderful opportunity to make a real difference in the lung health of schoolchildren with asthma. Check out PPUSA today and consider putting it to work in your schools.