The overview
The contract approves a $20,000 agreement with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, which will run from Oct.1 to Sept. 30, 2025, with the option to renew for two one-year terms for a total amount of up to $60,000.
According to city documents, the fiscal year 2024-25 general fund will provide the funding for the program. Funding for subsequent years is contingent upon council approval.
The Metropolitan Health District’s SA Kids BREATHE asthma program supports underserved families of children ages 3 to 17 with uncontrolled asthma who live in San Antonio or Bexar County. The program provides free asthma self management education and intervention services.
To qualify applicants must meet at least one of these criteria:
- One hospitalization in the past year
- Two or more emergency, urgent care, or acute care visits in the past year
- Two or more documented steroid bursts within the past year
- Two or more unscheduled school treatments in the past week
- Missing 10% or more of school days in the past year
Participating households will receive three home visits from specially trained Community Healthcare workers with periodic follow-ups at 6- and-12-month intervals to improve asthma control.
Participating households will learn:
- How to use asthma devices
- Home review for triggers—allergens or irritants that make asthma worse
- The value of an asthma action plan
- Facts about asthma medication
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio will provide a physician medical advisor who will train and guide Community Healthcare workers and mentor their supervisor.
The medical advisor will also provide overall program guidance and support, including chairing the SA Kids BREATHE asthma program advisory committee and assisting the program with outreach efforts to health care providers in Bexar County. Outreach includes one-on-one conversations with physicians about the program, group presentations with the program manager and a quarterly newsletter for pediatricians produced in collaboration with the program team.
