Will Fund Hospital’s Asthma Analysis
Ridgewood and Bushwick residents might breathe a little easier if the state awards Wyckoff Heights Medical Center more than $1 million for a pioneering, large-scale asthma study.
The hospital is in the final stages of applying for a grant that would give the institution about $1.3 million to distribute asthma inhalers with small devices that track when, where and how often the inhalers are used, according to Wyckoff Heights Chief Operating Officer David Rock.
The information would help researchers and patients identify triggers and avoid them in the future.
Asthma is a chronic issue in the Ridgewood/Bushwick area, as well as citywide, Rock said.
He explained that the hospital has been running a pilot program using 25 kids in the area, and the results have been good.
Rock recalled one little girl who was typically admitted to the emergency room five times a year for asthma attacks.
After researchers started noticing that she used her inhaler frequently at a neighborhood playground, they realized a plant pollen in that park was triggering her attacks.
“It was a significant outcome for us,” he said. “She went from five or six hospital admissions a year to zero.”
If it gets the grant, Wyckoff Heights is expected to receive $1,321,800, according to information from the state. Rock said the hospital should know whether it will be funded by early February.
“We’re highly confident that they’ll grant us,” Rock said.
Wyckoff Heights will use the money to expand its program to more children and even some adults, he said .
Working with schools and community-based organizations, the hospital will develop a three-year trial period in which to expand the program.
Funding would come as part of the state’s Vital Access/Safety Net Provider Program, which helps ensure access to ambulatory services, urgent care centers and community care services, according to a statement from the Cuomo’s office.
The New York State Department of Health will work with Wyckoff Heights and other medical facilities that received funding to establish programmatic goals and track the hospitals’ progress, according to the state.
The Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) established the VAP program. The state Department of Health (DOH) received $182 million in available funding for 2013-14.
To date, DOH has received more than 150 applications totaling $1.2 billion.
Due to the significant number of applications received as well as the number of additional facilities that also need support, the DOH said it is working with the federal government to secure more funding.
