St. John’s Well Child and Family Center (SJWCFC)
SJWCFC is an independent network of Federally Qualified Health Centers and school-based clinics serving the communities of Central and South Los Angeles and Compton. Services offered by SJWCFC include: primary care, health education, child development and literacy education, case management, health insurance enrollment and mental health assessments.
SJWCFC’s Healthy Homes Healthy Kids project is aimed at improving the health of South Los Angeles pediatric asthma patients by addressing environmental hazards in the home, delivering in-home asthma education and case management led by community health workers, and providing medical care.
Funds provided through the Equity Center’s Community Seed Grants Program were used to support the delivery of in-home asthma education and to purchase non-toxic home cleaning kits, dust-mite proof mattress/pillow covers, and education materials. This work aimed to minimize asthma triggers in the homes of pediatric asthma patients.
Six months following completion of the program, SJWCFC observed the following improvements among asthmatic children whose families participated in Healthy Homes Healthy Kids:
- An increase in asthma wellness check-up clinic visits
- A decrease in symptoms of asthma attacks
- A decrease in clinic visits for an asthma attack
- Fewer missed school days
- Fewer emergency room visits in association with an asthma attack, and fewer ER visits resulting in hospitalization
SJWCFC plans to build on the success of this work and will continue to integrate community health workers into their care team and educational activities, both within and outside of the clinic.