The Cosmopolitan-University of Nebraska Medical Center Mobile Nursing Center and United HealthCare of the Midlands are taking health education into the homes of children with moderate to severe asthma to improve their quality of life and reduce the need for emergency room visits and hospitalizations. This spring, United HealthCare of the Midlands contracted with the Mobile Nursing Center to form the Asthma Initiatives for Results health education program to provide in-home education for Omaha children with asthma whose families are enrolled in United HealthCare of the Midlands’ plans.
Asthma, a serious condition that affects five to 10 percent of the population, is an inflammation in the lungs that causes wheezing, chest tightness, cough and other symptoms. Asthma and deaths due to asthma in the United States are on the increase according to U.S. health officials. Last year, two Omaha children died as a result of asthma.
Trips to the emergency room for asthma attacks cost about $200 and if hospitalization is required, $3,000 and higher.
The asthma partnership began when Cindy Barnowski, vice president of Health Services, United HealthCare of the Midlands, and staff of the Mobile Nursing Center met last year during one of the Center’s community health screenings in Omaha.
“The number of children who were being brought into the emergency room or hospitalized with asthma was rising at an alarming rate,” said Barnowski. “Our goal is to improve the quality of life for these children and their families and reduce the likelihood of life-threatening attacks.”
The asthma home education teaches children with asthma and their family or guardian how to manage asthma in order to prevent potentially life-threatening asthma attacks. Studies show that one-on-one teaching about asthma, causes of asthma attacks, signs of an oncoming asthma attack and how to use medications, inhalers and nebulizers correctly can prevent attacks that require emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
“It has been shown that when health professionals go into the home and educate patients on how to manage their disease, patients stay healthier and health care costs are reduced,” said Genene Eriksen, clinical nurse specialist, Cosmopolitan-UNMC Mobile Nursing Center. “We go into the home and take time to teach the patient with asthma and their family about what asthma is, the importance of medication and monitoring the asthma, how to use an inhaler, nebulizer, peak/flow meter, and other aspects of the disease.”
Home visits allow the nurse time to teach the patient and family about asthma, as well as get information about lifestyle and the physical environment that may trigger asthma attacks, said Kathy Mazzuca, Ph.D., nurse and co-project director of the Cosmopolitan-UNMC College of Nursing Mobile Nursing Center. She said attacks can be triggered by exercise, pets, dust mites, mold, tobacco smoke, strong odors and sprays, and other irritants.
“We also assess the social environment, for example, we know that teenagers may miss asthma treatments because they’re embarassed by having to treat themselves in public,” said Dr. Mazzuca. ” A serious asthma attack can result in a trip to the emergency room and maybe mean being hospitalized. We are trying to prevent these problems with education.”
Staff from the Mobile Nursing Center regularly visit families covered under the United HealthCare of the Midlands plans, using easy-to-understand medical information in English and Spanish. The nurses coordinate the child’s plan of treatment between the physician, home and school.
The Mobile Nursing Center is unique in that it takes its services to those who cannot easily access basic health screening, education, counseling and referral services due to transportation, financial or language barriers.
The Mobile Nursing Center, which was organized in 1993, began as a collaborative project between the UNMC College of Nursing and the Cornbelt Federation of Cosmopolitan International Club, a non-profit organization that funds diabetes projects and supports diabetes research. The Center has logged more than 30,000 miles making more than 8,714 visits to people in rural and urban underserved areas of Nebraska.
United Health Care of the Midlands, Inc., was founded in 1984. The health plan, in conjunction with United HealthCare Insurance Company, provides health benefit plans to more than 225,000 residents in Nebraska and Iowa. United HealthCare of the Midlands’ parent company, United HealthCare Corportation, provides a full spectrum of resources and services to help people achieve improved health and well-being through all stages of life.