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Breath Matters
The American Lung Association of California’s Monthly e-Newsletter
Improving Life, One Breath at a Time
To automatically connect with your nearest American Lung Association, or to speak with a nurse or respiratory therapist at our free HelpLine, call 800.LUNG.USA (800.586.4872).
August 31, 2005 Number 127
Content:
MONTHLY HEALTH TIP
Free Diesel Health Effects Ads and Posters Download your free diesel health effects posters and ads in English and/or Spanish at http://www.californialung.org/spotlight/cleanair01_ads.html.
STATE BUDGET INCLUDES $25 MILLION TO REPLACE OLD SCHOOL BUSES
The California state budget includes $25 million to retrofit older dirty diesel school buses and replace pre-1977 diesel school buses to reduce the serious health consequences caused by toxic diesel soot. The American Lung Association of California strongly supported the budget augmentation because California has one of the oldest and most polluting school fleets in the nation, with nearly half the nation's pre-1977 school buses, which release 60 times more diesel soot than newer ones.
Tens of millions more dollars are needed, not only for the pre-1977 fleet but also for school buses built between 1977 and 1987. Those buses don't meet state air quality standards either.
For more information, contact Bonnie Holmes-Gen at 916.442.4446 or bhgen [at] alac [dot] org.
SANTA BARBARA COALITION RECEIVES GRANT FOR ASTHMA EDUCATION
The Action on Asthma Coalition of Santa Barbara County recently received a grant of more than $290,000 from the California Endowment to implement a Live Well With Asthma project. The coalition is a division of the American Lung Association of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and consists of more than 19 member organizations working to improve the health and quality of life for individuals affected by asthma.
Asthma educators will be trained to educate and monitor people with asthma in six local clinics to improve asthma treatment.
For more information, contact Donna Beal, MPH, at 805.963.1426 or donna [at] lungsbvc [dot] org.
SOLO HYBRID-ELECTRIC CARS IN CARPOOL LANES CAUSE CONCERN
Single-occupant hybrid-electric cars that meet the criteria can drive in the carpool lane now that legislation allowing it has taken effect. State lawmakers passed a bill last year that gave some types of the high-mileage, low-emission vehicles access to the coveted lanes.
The American Lung Association of California took no stand on the bill due to concerns it might cut carpooling and lead to more pollution.
"We were not convinced that this incentive was needed and we were concerned about the potential to slow traffic in HOV lanes and discourage people from carpooling," Bonnie Holmes-Gen, of the American Lung Association of California's government relations office, was quoted as saying in an Associated Press story.
For more information, contact Bonnie at 916.442.4446 or bhgen [at] alac [dot] org.
GARY TRUDEAU LENDS CARTOON CHARACTER TO NO-SMOKING CAMPAIGN
The American Lung Association of Los Angeles County joined officials in Santa Monica to kick off the "No Smoking on Santa Monica Beaches" awareness campaign, complete with Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury comic strip character Mr. Butts.
Stickers featuring Mr. Butts were designed by Trudeau specifically for the campaign. The stickers were plastered on 600 beach trash cans and included in other efforts to raise awareness among beachgoers about the smoking ban on Santa Monica beaches.
For more information, contact Sondra Widland at 323.935.5864 or swidland [at] lalung [dot] org.
SAN FRANCISCO RECEIVES FUNDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
The Bay Area Clean Air Task Force, staffed by the American Lung Association of San Francisco & San Mateo Counties, recently received a solicited grant from the San Francisco Foundation to be a member of the Bay Area Environmental Health Collaborative, a precedent-setting regional model to improve air quality. The group consists of seven environmental, public health, and community-based environmental justice groups in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The group’s goal is to research, develop and implement a campaign focusing on regional environmental justice issues, specifically air quality. This is a three year project, with grants to be renewed each year.
For more information, contact Linda Weiner at 650.994.5864 or lindaw [at] alasfsm [dot] org.
STOCKTON ADOPTS SMOKE-FREE ENTRYWAY ORDINANCE
The American Lung Association of California, Valley Lode Branch, joined forces with other health groups to secure a smoke-free entryway ordinance in Stockton. The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance banning smoking within 20 feet of all public entrances in the city.
Health groups and others who support the new policy will kick off a public education campaign on the steps of city hall in mid-September. The association will join efforts to raise awareness about the new ordinance, including visiting area businesses and handing out no-smoking signs. The approved ordinance requires business owners to post no-smoking signs at their buildings' entrances.
For more information, contact Michelle DeLeon at 209.478.1888 or mdeleon [at] inreach [dot] com.
CTS MEMBER PAUL SELECKY WINS PRESTIGIOUS NATIONWIDE AWARD
Paul Selecky, MD, a member of the California Thoracic Society and medical director for Hoag Hospital Palliative Care Program, has been selected as one of three awardees nationwide for the American Hospital Association Circle of Life Award for innovative end-of-life and palliative care.
Through the leadership of Dr. Selecky, Hoag Hospital's palliative care team of physicians, nurses, social workers, respiratory therapists and chaplain was established in 2003, which allows dying patients to be placed on a supportive care pathway that puts into motion an end-of-life plan, including pain control, spiritual and emotional support, and discussion of other critical issues.
For more information, contact Colleen Richardson, MPH, at 714.730.1944 or ctslung [at] aol [dot] com.
RESEARCH PROJECT STUDIES LUNG INFLAMMATION IN PREMATURE INFANTS
A researcher from the University of California, Los Angeles, is studying whether exposure to infection in the womb is a potential cause of a lung disease called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which is found in some premature infants. Inflammation is thought to play a role in the development of BPD.
The source of inflammation is not yet known, nor is it known if it is caused by bacteria, viruses or both. Vedang Londhe, MD, is trying to isolate the precise factors involved in the inflammation process in hopes that his work will contribute to the treatment and prevention of BPD.
Dr. Londhe’s study is one of 18 research projects funded by the American Lung Association of California in FY 2005-2006. For more information about the association's research program, visit visit http://www.californialung.org/research/research.html
IS YOUR ASTHMA WALK TEAM READY?
It’s not too late to get your company or personal team together for local Asthma Walks in September and October. To automatically reach your local American Lung Association for details, call 800.LUNG.USA or visit http://www.californialung.org/press/030925asthma.html
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