In the United States, 25 million people have asthma, including 4.7 million children under 18. In 2020 alone, childhood asthma resulted in 270,330 emergency department visits and 27,055 hospital stays. Shelby County, Tennessee, exhibits particularly high rates of pediatric hospitalizations, with an average of 1,996 emergency department visits and 165 hospitalizations per 100,000 individuals.

The Changing High-Risk Asthma in Memphis through Partnership (CHAMP) program was initiated to address this challenge. Its goal is to enhance asthma management for children experiencing frequent and severe exacerbations, aiming to reduce preventable hospital visits.

Between 2013 and 2022, the program enrolled 1,348 children, addressing various barriers to care, such as transportation and healthcare access. Notably, CHAMP has delivered significant positive outcomes for the children it serves. It showed a 58% decrease in emergency department visits, a 68% decrease in inpatient and observation stays, a 42% decrease in urgent care visits, and a 53% reduction in total asthma exacerbations.

Following one year of enrollment, the number of asthma exacerbations per child decreased from 2.97 to 1.40.

The success of programs similar to CHAMP strongly advocates for their wider adoption, potentially offering a blueprint for managing other high-risk medical conditions in children.

(Source:https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-tennessee-champ-program-has-improved-life-for-children-with-asthma#The-future-of-childhood-asthma-programs)

Given the success of programs like CHAMP, theres a strong case for their broader implementation, potentially serving as a model for managing other high-risk medical conditions among children.