Draft continues his work with AANMA to transform asthma care in the U.S.

FAIRFAX, VA, MAY 11, 2010 – Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA), the  nation’s only family-founded patient education nonprofit organization for people with asthma, allergies and related conditions, congratulates NFL linebacker Chris Draft on his recent signing to the Washington Redskins and welcomes him to the nation’s capital.

Draft partnered with AANMA this month to launch the Great American Asthma Challenge – the first-ever national grassroots movement to end asthma deaths and suffering in the United States. A dedicated community activist as well as accomplished athlete, Draft helped kick off the program at AANMA’s 13^th annual Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill on May 5.

“Chris Draft brings authenticity and conviction to his off-the-field work for families and people with asthma,” said Nancy Sander, AANMA founder and president. “Now that he’ll be right in our back yard, we look forward to more opportunities to work with him on our mission to end asthma deaths and suffering in the U.S.”

The proactive approach of the Great American Asthma Challenge is a way of life for Draft, founder of The Chris Draft Family Foundation and The Asthma Team™. Draft was diagnosed with asthma while attending Stanford and playing for the university’s football team. Today he motivates children and adults with asthma to take charge of their health through his foundation. In his keynote speech at Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill he spoke about the importance of a team effort – among patients, their families, healthcare providers, lawmakers and the community – to tackle asthma.

The Great American Asthma Challenge
Every day 10 people die from asthma. Most healthcare providers agree that these deaths are preventable. Patient education, access to care and a healthy lifestyle are proven methods that lead to less severe asthma symptoms, fewer hospitalizations and emergency department visits, fewer missed days of school and work – and fewer deaths.

The Great American Asthma Challenge is a self-paced program through which participants weave tried-and-true resources and health guidance supported by the NIH Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma into their daily lives, connecting with a network of others working toward the goal of ending asthma deaths and suffering in the U.S.

Participants log into a new interactive website, take a quick survey to establish a baseline and set goals, then they’re off to complete Challenge activities targeted for three levels of users: families, healthcare providers and legislators. Throughout the Challenge, participants see survey results and share feedback. At the end of the Challenge, users take a survey to measure their progress. For more details and to take the Challenge today, go to www.GreatAmericanAsthmaChallenge.org.

About the Chris Draft Family Foundation

The mission of the Chris Draft Family Foundation is to strengthen communities by empowering families to live healthy lifestyles. The Foundation focuses on seven primary initiatives with overarching themes that stress the importance of education, healthy lifestyles, character development, personal responsibility, self-discipline and physical fitness. For more information, please visit www.chrisdraftfamilyfoundation.org.

About AANMA
Founded in 1985, Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics is the leading national nonprofit family organization dedicated to eliminating death and suffering due to asthma, allergies and related conditions. AANMA’s core areas of expertise are education, advocacy and outreach. The organization’s www.aanma.org website and award-winning publications, Allergy & Asthma Today magazine and The MA Report online newsletter, are consumer lifelines to medical news and healthy living.

For more information, call 800.878.4403 or visit www.aanma.org. You can also follow AANMA on Twitter and Facebook and on the Take A Weekly Breather blog. Take the Great American Asthma Challenge today: www.GreatAmericanAsthmaChallenge.org.

Contact: Christie Chapman
703-851-4372
editor@aanma.org

Be a part of the first-ever national grassroots movement to change asthma care in the U.S. Join a network of families, healthcare providers, legislators and others who share the mission to end asthma deaths and suffering, starting today. From healthy living guidance to patient education and community involvement – the Great American Asthma Challenge touches all facets of asthma care. Everyone has a role to play. Read the rest of this entry »

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) to Launch
the Great American Asthma Challenge
First-Ever National Grassroots Movement to End Asthma Deaths in the United States

WASHINGTON, DC, APRIL 28, 2010 – Every day 10 people die from asthma. Most healthcare providers agree that these deaths are preventable. Patient education, access to care and a healthy lifestyle are proven methods that lead to less severe asthma symptoms, fewer hospitalizations and emergency department visits, fewer missed days of school and work – and fewer deaths. Read the rest of this entry »

NFL Linebacker Chris Draft joins Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) to kick off the Great American Asthma Challenge on May 5 at the 13^th annual Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill.

Chris Draft doesn’t let asthma stop him. During a football game in college, he remembers lying on the field gasping for breath, wondering if his football days were over. But he learned how to manage his symptoms and take care of himself, drawing on the proactive, can-do attitude his family instilled in him when he was growing up.

In 2007 he founded the Chris Draft Family Foundation, an organization that educates families about healthy lifestyles and good character, partnering with school districts, local and national health organizations and nonprofit organizations. The foundation’s Asthma Team™ is a support network that seeks to educate and uplift people and families dealing with asthma.

Hear Chris talk about how education and a take-charge approach can empower families to tackle asthma and lead healthy, active lives. He’s our keynote speaker at our Congressional & Press Breakfast Briefing. He’ll also be a special guest at our Asthma & Allergy Health Fair and Free Asthma Screening after the briefing.

Here’s how you can be a part of it all:

Be there! Attend Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill! It’s in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, May 5. There are two events that day — the Congressional and Press Breakfast Briefing, and the Asthma & Allergy Health Fair and Free Screenings. E-mail editor@aanma.org for more details about how to attend.

MAY 5

Congressional and Press Breakfast Briefing

8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Gold Room

Rayburn House Office Building

Keynote Speaker: Chris Draft, NFL, The Chris Draft Family Foundation

Members of Congress:
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)
Rep. Steve Kagen (D-WI)
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-NY)
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL)

Asthma & Allergy Health Fair and FREE Screenings
11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Rayburn Foyer

Be there in spirit! What if you live clear across the country from Capitol Hill, can’t get out of work, have little ones to take care of or simply can’t make it May 5?

-You can still get in on the celebration! We will be recording the inspirational words of our speakers for an upcoming AADCH 2010 podcast series, which will be available in the Podcasts section of www.aanma.org.

-Call or e-mail your government representatives and encourage them to be there for AADCH and the Great American Asthma Challenge!

Click here for members of the House of Representatives.
Click here for members of the Senate.

-You can also support AANMA’s advocacy efforts with a donation.

-No matter where you live or whether you attend AADCH 2010,

May 5 is the kickoff day for the Great American Asthma Challenge! Go to www.aanma.org/thegaac or e-mail editor@aanma.org — we’ll send you a reminder e-mail on May 5 to sign on and take the first step of the Challenge!

AANMA has an immediate need for volunteer leaders in these three cities to help us bring an exciting new outreach project into your community: Real Strategies for Living and Breathing the NIH Guidelines, Read the rest of this entry »

When 10-year-old Andye came to play with my daughter Alanna, I would always limit their time in the basement – not just because that’s where the TV was, but also because Andye was allergic to our cats. These calico beauties scattered their dander throughout the house, but I knew it collected heavily in the carpeted, windowless room downstairs. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jan Gambino, MEd

When my daughters Rebecca, 15, and Jenna, 18, started coughing last year, I opened the medicine cabinet and reached for the inhalers, peak flow meters and nebulizer as usual. After years of dealing with their asthma, I knew how to wear the Dr. Mom hat pretty well. But this cough was worse than the ones we’d dealt with in the past. Read the rest of this entry »

AANMA is offering guidance to help patients understand recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings about Advair ® (fluticasone and salmeterol), Foradil ® (formoterol), Serevent ® (salmeterol) and Symbicort ® (budesonide and formoterol), daily inhaled medications containing a long-acting beta agonist (LABA, a 12-hour bronchodilator). The FDA had two basic messages on Feb. 18: Read the rest of this entry »

AANMA’s Director of Patient Advocacy, Sandra Fusco-Walker, testifed before the South Dakota Health and Human Services via phone this morning on Senate Bill 83, which would protect a student’s right to carry and self-administer their lifesaving asthma and anaphylaxis medications at school. Once the legislation passes, South Dakota would become Read the rest of this entry »

The AANMA Store is now open for business! Our new online store brings you the best resources and products to help you manage symptoms, plus a vibrant selection of books and educational materials. Shop for holding chambers and nebulizers, peak flow meters, books, the AsthmaTracker(TM) daily symptom diary and our popular series of inhaler posters. Read the rest of this entry »