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The grant funds the first year of the operation and a second grant in comparable size is anticipated for the second year. The grant was extended to the El Centro Regional Medical Center which has operated the Child Asthma program since its inception in 2001. The program focuses on children in the birth to five years age bracket, as the disease typically strikes at a very young age. Asthma is a chronic lung condition induced by a tightening of air passages to the lungs that deprive them of enough air to breathe properly. Ed Kirkpatrick, chief nursing officer, said the grant will "continue with services offered during the previous funding cycle that targets asthma management." But the new funding will enhance the program’s outreach in the north county area by assigning a part time community health worker to Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley.

The thrust of the program is to offer training to parents on coping with asthmatic children through proper home management. Kirkpatrick said asthma management techniques involve home visitations to work with parents, as well as offering training to child care centers, and closely monitoring patients.Kirkpatrick quoted the Commission as ruling that "this project is highly recommended for funding—it has strong community ties, will work with primary care physicians’ offices at both hospitals and an have an impact on hospitalization rates with proper case management services. Asthma project staff (members) are knowledgeable and will be providing valuable services for children that can have long-term impacts on health."

The Child Asthma program is under the direction of Aide Fulton, R.N., an ECRMC staff nurse who has headed the project as coordinator since its inception. The program was initially funded by the California Endowment as part of its California Asthma Among School-Age Children program. That funding expired in 2004 when the Children and Family First Commission assumed the responsibility for funding.

In the application for the grant, Fulton and her staff estimated that that 39 percent of children per 10,000 population were hospitalized with asthma in Imperial County in 2005, compared to a statewide average of 6.1 percent.

Imperial County’s population is 77 percent Latino and statistics show Latino children to be especially asthma prone, partly because of lack of insurance coverage and the lack of access to preventative measures. Air quality in this border area, affected by unregulated air quality in Mexico, also has an impact on asthma rates in Imperial County.