Alverno College nursing students help Shorewood schools take control of asthma

With the help of Alverno College nursing students, Atwater Elementary and Lake Bluff Elementary have begun to take control of asthma in their schools by implementing the Wisconsin Asthma Coalition (WAC) school walk-through program. In Wisconsin, asthma affects one in thirteen children, equating to approximately 100,000 children. Since children spend more than 1,000 hours a year in school, asthma management in schools is critical to student health and success. The WAC school walk-through program is designed to increase school attendance by reducing environmental asthma triggers found within school buildings. Both schools completed the WAC school walk-through program, which includes assessing each school classroom for identifiable environmental asthma triggers and creating positive, low or no cost changes to their schools. Alvernostudents conducted the walk-through as part of a project that focuses on health promotion, risk reduction, and disease prevention within the community.

Alverno College has educated nurses for more than 80 years and is home to one of the largest undergraduate schools in nursing in Wisconsin. Students interested in applying for, or learning more about the JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing at Alverno College, can find more information at www.alverno.edu/nursing or by calling the admissions office at 414-382-6100.