Senator Parker Recognizes May as Asthma Awareness Month

Senator Parker Recognizes May as Asthma Awareness Month

(Albany, NY) Senator Kevin Parker (D- 21) urges increased asthma awareness and education during May as part of Asthma Awareness Month.  Asthma affects over 1.1 million New Yorkers, and can be controlled with a variety of common medications..

“The more protections we have in place, the less harm asthma and other respiratory illnesses can do,” Senator Parker said. “That is why I introduced Senate Bill No. 911, which would require schools to prepare an emergency asthma plan for students affected by asthma and other respiratory illnesses.”

Asthma causes an average of 301 deaths per year and 41,797 hospitalizations in New York; many of which are preventable. Asthma is the leading cause of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, missed school days and work absences in New York City’s poorest neighborhoods. According to the American Lung Association, the prevalence of asthma among Blacks is drastically higher than their white counterparts - 47% higher in blacks than in whites (the highest prevalence rates for whites and blacks were among the 5-17 age group).

“We have to do more to raise asthma awareness in our homes, schools, workplaces, and public spaces,” continued Senator Parker. “That will increase the health, productivity, and school attendance of New Yorkers and their children.”

For more information about Asthma Awareness Month visit the following websites: “When we fail to recognize the causes, symptoms, and treatments for such a widespread chronic illness it can cause serious harm, and even death,” concluded Senator Parker.

      ·         New York State Department of Health:

http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/asthma/

·         United States Environmental Protection Agency:  

http://www.epa.gov/asthma/awareness.html

·         The Center for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/features/asthmaawareness/

About Senator Kevin Parker

Senator Kevin S. Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse community in the heart of Brooklyn that consists of 318,000 constituents in Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope.  He is the Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, Assistant Democratic Leader for Intergovernmental Affairs, and Chair of the Democratic Task Force on New Americans.

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