2010 Lung Health Highlights
Below is a list of 10 of Respiratory Health Association's successes for 2010. View this list as a printer-friendly PDF here.
Chicago Tobacco Prevention Project launch
In March, we received an $11.5 million grant from the CDC to support the two-year Chicago Tobacco Prevention Project, which aims to reduce adult smoking by 10 percent, reduce youth smoking by 25 percent and decrease exposure to secondhand smoke by promoting smoke-free policies. As part of the project, we have awarded more than $2 million to 30 community partners to provide smoking cessation services to a number of at-risk populations.
Researching treatments and cures
We are funding two new researchers this year who are looking to lessen the impacts of lung disease. The Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation helped us award a grant to Dr. Anne Marie Singh at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Dr. Singh hopes to develop interventions to prevent asthma by studying the immune differences between children who are at greater risk of developing asthma and those who are not. With proceeds from the Chicago Lung Run, RHAMC and Lung Oncology Group in Chicago (LOGIC) awarded a grant to Dr. Marta Batus of Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Batus is studying small cell lung cancer patients’ responses to chemotherapy, and she hopes to find better treatments and outcomes.
EPA awards our environmental leadership
In July, U.S. EPA presented us with a leadership award for our ongoing advocacy to clean up diesel exhaust. Some of our recognized accomplishments include: development of idle reduction ordinances at the state and local level; raising support for clean diesel funding, such as helping secure $31.1 million in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Improvement (CMAQ) 2010 & 2011 funding for Chicago area diesel reduction projects; and working closely with the Illinois EPA in implementing over 100 successful clean diesel projects throughout the state.
Asthma advocacy and education
In August, Gov. Quinn signed RHAMC-sponsored legislation to allow children to carry and administer their asthma inhalers at school without a note from a doctor. Now, students can use their quick-relief inhalers as long as they submit a prescription label and a note from a parent or guardian. This legislation removed a barrier to care for many students who do not have regular access to a primary care physician. We also continued the success of our Fight Asthma Now (FAN) program by teaching more than 1,000 students how to better manage their asthma and handle asthma emergencies.
Metra's air quality brought to light
In November, Chicago Tribune conducted an investigation that found that air pollution inside Metra train cars can be 72 times higher than the outside air. Our director of environmental health programs, Brian Urbaszewski, encouraged Tribune reporter Michael Hawthorne to conduct the study and release his findings to educate the public. Brian provided information on the health impacts of this finding: the dirty air is a major threat to everyone, particularly people living with lung disease, and can cause asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes and even premature death. The day after the story ran, Respiratory Health Association President and CEO Joel Africk was invited to speak at a press conference held by Senator Durbin. Metra has convened a task force and has since called upon several groups to focus on solutions for cleaner fuels, air filtration on passenger cars, improved locomotive technology, ventilation in downtown stations, air quality testing and funding strategies. We have attended and contributed to each of these meetings and continue to advocate for lung-friendly policies and improvements.
Study shows CT scans essential to lung cancer screenings
Results of the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial revealed that regular CT screenings for at-risk populations reduce lung cancer deaths by 20 percent. Currently, there is no recommended screening test for people who have risk factors for lung cancer, which means most cases go undiagnosed until the cancer has reached later stages. Adding CT screenings and other recommendations to the care guidelines for anyone who is at-risk for lung cancer can reduce deaths significantly, but it is not yet known whether this screening will be added to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines for health care providers. The results of this study have helped us gain more support for our ongoing advocacy efforts to pass the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act, which makes the fight against lung cancer a national priority.
COPD awareness and prevention
We were awarded a subcontract from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institutes (NHLBI) to expand our successful COPD programming. We also took part in the first-ever World Spirometry Day on October 14, a celebration of the quick non-invasive breathing test that helps diagnose COPD. We partnered with University of Illinois at Chicago to offer the test for more than 400 Chicagoans. In partnership with NHLBI’s Country Conquers COPD Campaign, we provided free spirometry testing to more than 300 people at the Chicago Country Music Festival. During National COPD Awareness Month in November, we hosted our seventh annual Living Better Together COPD conference, and attendees wrote letters to the editors of more than 13 local newspapers sharing their experiences and supporting more research for the disease. Chicago Tribune also ran a letter from RHAMC President and CEO Joel Africk and Director of the Illinois COPD Coalition Ravi Kalhan, MD, MS, in response to COPD being announced as the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Chicago's first Quit Week
As part of the Chicago Tobacco Prevention Project, we celebrated Quit Week from November 9 through 17. The week included events throughout the city that encouraged people who smoke to quit and brought awareness to smoking cessation resources with activities including. Some highlights from the week included: hosting a booth at the Bears versus Vikings game at Soldier Field to offer free lung testing and smoking cessation resources; QUIT being spelled in lights across the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois building; and CBS2 hosting a Quit-a-thon during their evening news hour, during which more than 100 people called for help quitting smoking.
Authorities call for awareness and policies to reduce secondhand smoke
In December, two medical reports highlighted the harms of secondhand smoke. First, the U.S. surgeon general announced that any exposure to tobacco smoke is harmful to the body and can lead to serious illness or death. The report found that cellular damage and tissue inflammation from tobacco smoke are immediate, and that repeated exposure weakens the body’s ability to heal the damage. In the same week, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a study showing that children exposed to even low levels of secondhand smoke are at greater risk for a variety of illnesses, including cognitive developments and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The reports came shortly after we released results of a survey that revealed nearly one third of Chicago renters are willing to pay more to live in a smoke-free building, and that 88 percent of the people surveyed consider secondhand smoke to be a serious health hazard. To support smoke-free housing in Chicago, we launched a smoke-free housing search through the Chicago Tobacco Prevention Project at www.chicagosmokefreehousing.org.
Special events keep people moving
In 2010, our special events kept people running, climbing, hiking and even rappelling! In February, the 13th annual Hustle Up the Hancock drew more than 4,000 climbers to the top of the John Hancock Center to honor loved ones affected by lung disease. In August, the 14th annual CowaLUNGa Bike Tour took cyclists along the 60, 130 or 190-mile route to Wisconsin for three days of bike riding from Illinois to Wisconsin. In September, the second annual Skyline Plunge! Chicago took nearly 100 participants over the edge of theWit Hotel at the intersection of State and Lake Streets. In October, 10 charity partners joined us for Hike for Lung Health in Chicago’s Lincoln Park and Palatine’s Deer Grove for a 1-mile or 3-mile fundraising walk that brought more than $100,000. In all, our events raised nearly $1.5 million to support local research, advocacy and education efforts for lung health!
