The flag raising ceremony will feature speakers from Everett Elementary School, Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and Medic-Alert. After the ceremony, speakers and parents of students with asthma will be available for interviews.

Because air quality in Stanislaus County is one of the worst in the nation, the Asthma Coalition initiated a flag program for the schools to alert students with asthma and respiratory diseases of the daily air quality.

“By raising these flags, we hope to raise awareness and change routine behavior to help prevent or reduce the severity of asthma attacks,” said Wallace Carroll, MD, an allergist and Chairman of the Asthma Coalition. “If a student has asthma, the flag can help determine outdoor physical education activities. If it’s a bad air day, perhaps we can delay mowing the lawn or lighting the fireplace. There’s a lot we can all do to help reduce the number of missed school and work days due to asthma,” explains Carroll. This partnership with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District will provide schools with daily information on the air quality forecast.

According to the American Lung Association’s 2004 State of the Air Report, Asthma is the #1 cause of school absenteeism due to chronic disease. In Stanislaus County over 33,000 people have asthma, more than 12,000 of which are children. Furthermore nearly 5,000 people have Emphysema and over 14,000 have Chronic Bronchitis. The coalition’s mission is to create an “asthma friendly” community by promoting awareness, education, management, and prevention.

The Coalition has worked diligently on the implementation of the Flag Program. Generous donations from the non-profit MedicAlert® and California’s State Maternal Child Health Program (MCAH) have provided the critical funding for the flags and educational materials to implement the program in 245 schools within the County. Newman School District has obtained numerous donations from their local community to purchase their own district flags.

Several schools in Stanislaus County will be implementing the Asthma Friendly Flag Program throughout the month of November. It is a voluntary program offered at no cost to any school or organization in Stanislaus County. Those interested in participating can call the Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition at (209) 558-4846 or email ncalderon@schsa.org. For more information about Asthma or about the Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition, visit the coalition’s website at www.stanasthma.org.