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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE CHICAGO ASTHMA CONSORTIUM AND RECOGNIZING MAY AS ASTHMA AND ALLERGY AWARENESS MONTH IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, beginning in 1984, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has declared May to be "National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month"; and
WHEREAS, asthma is an incurable chronic disease that significantly affects school attendance, Emergency Department utilization, and economic productivity, and more than 60 million Americans overall suffer from asthma and allergies; and
WHEREAS, both non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children are hospitalized at a higher rate than people of other races or ethnicities, and Emergency Department utilization for asthma is up to five times higher for people of color and those in a low socioeconomic status, particularly children; and
WHEREAS, asthma is a comorbidity for other chronic health conditions and has been increasing since the early 1980s in all age, sex and racial groups, although African-Americans in the U.S. die from asthma at a higher rate; and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that 95,000 children and 212,000 adults in Cook County have an asthma diagnosis, with Black children two times as likely to have asthma than their Caucasian peers, and non-Hispanic Black children account for over 60% of all asthma-related emergency department visits; and
WHEREAS, non-Hispanic Black children are 5 times as likely to utilize an emergency department for asthma, and Hispanic/Latino children are 2 times as likely compared to their Caucasian peers; and
WHEREAS, this data is particularly important due to the current health crisis because people with asthma are at higher risk of becoming very ill from COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, formed in 1996 by the American College of Chest Physicians and Respiratory Health Association to coordinate the activities of asthma stakeholders across the Chicago area,
the Chicago Asthma Consortium (CAC) is a group of volunteers comprised of the major health systems, as...
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