CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Some Chicago children struggling with asthma are getting the medical treatment they need without having to go to a hospital.
For one year now, Lurie Children's Mobile Health Unit has been bringing health care directly to young asthma patients who need it in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood.
Dr. Avani Shah, oversees the program, and she said some patients just aren't able to get to the hospital.
According to the hospital, in Chicago, about 25% of all pediatric patients are treated for the condition, and many of those children are in communities of color which often have less access to health care.
Through a community partnership, though, the medical staff treats patients outside a church in the Mobile Health Unit.
Once they're done, the patient and family head inside the church to meet with an asthma educator and social worker.
“I think they find it less intimidating,” Shah said. “It’s a little more comfortable, a little more familiar.”
Shah said that can make it easier for the patients to make and more importantly, keep appointments.
The hospital hopes to expand the program to more neighborhoods in the future.
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