VCU news

By Shira Pollard
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU

Kohl’s is continuing its support of Children’s Hospital Foundation with a $250,000 grant to enhance Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU’s You Can Control Asthma Now program. The community asthma program provides medical care, social support and patient education to empower children to gain control of asthma symptoms and live active, healthy lives. 

The two-year grant from Kohl’s will support UCAN’s nurse program manager and social worker positions, provide resources and assistance for patients and families, and promote community outreach initiatives.

“Our nurse practitioner and social worker are critical members of the UCAN team,” said Michael Schechter, M.D., professor and chief in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at CHoR and director of UCAN. “They help empower families to understand that ‘you can’ control asthma. Our nurse practitioner ensures the entire family receives asthma education, knows how to identity asthma triggers and understands the medication used to control asthma. Our social worker provides resources and follow-up related to barriers that can impede access to care such as transportation, housing, financial, insurance and legal issues.”

Asthma affects approximately 6.3 million children in the United States. The number of Richmond children suffering from asthma is disproportionately higher than in the surrounding areas. Thanks to funding from Children’s Hospital Foundation, Schechter implemented the UCAN program in 2015 to meet the need for comprehensive asthma care. UCAN currently cares for nearly 500 children from the City of Richmond and eastern Henrico County. Since its inception, UCAN has seen a decrease in asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations.  

“The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has identified Richmond as one of the worst cities to live in if you have asthma,” said Sarah Irby, director of community relations at Children’s Hospital Foundation. “Children’s Hospital Foundation helped establish the UCAN program with an original grant in 2015, and this gift from Kohl’s is helping us continue to support the team’s work to help even more children in our community.”

“Kohl’s commitment further enhances our ability to improve the lives of children in our community,” Schechter said. “With increased access to asthma care and community education initiatives, we can help kids spend less time in the hospital and more time being active and healthy, even with asthma.” 

A portion of the Kohl’s funding will be used for radio and bus advertising and an educational coloring and activity book. The goal of advertising and outreach is to reach children and families in targeted communities that have high rates of poorly controlled asthma and reinforce the message that asthma is controllable. Messaging like “Cough won’t quit? It could be asthma.” and “Smoke goes right to the lungs. Your child’s lungs.” aim to raise awareness about the signs, symptoms and triggers of asthma. The campaign can be seen on the interiors and exteriors of GRTC buses and heard on local radio stations. Fun and educational UCAN activity books will be distributed at community outreach events.

“We have all-star athletes with asthma playing professional sports,” said Ginger Mary, UCAN’s nurse program manager. “We want our families to know that with our help, they too can control their asthma at home, outside of the ER and the hospital.”

A supporter of Children’s Hospital Foundation for many years, Kohl’s has donated more than $1.4 million since 2001 to support various initiatives, including the Kohl’s Dental Outreach Program.

Kohl’s commitment to CHoR is made possible through the Kohl’s Cares cause merchandise program. Through this initiative, Kohl’s sells $5 books and soft toys, with 100 percent of net profits benefiting children’s health initiatives nationwide, including hospital partnerships like this one. Kohl’s has raised more than $317 million through this merchandise program. For more information, visit Kohls.com/Cares.