Newsroom

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Washington Heights–Inwood Network (WIN) for Asthma program has been honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with its 2010 National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management. The award recognizes WIN for Asthma's exemplary efforts to deliver high-quality asthma care that includes environmental controls.

"We are thrilled that the EPA has recognized our efforts to improve the health and well-being of children with asthma, and their families, in Northern Manhattan. Our community health workers work closely with families to help them address environmental asthma triggers like secondhand smoke and animal dander, and give them the information, resources and support they need to manage their child's asthma," says Patricia Peretz, program manager of WIN for Asthma.

WIN for Asthma is one of only five programs nationally to receive the prestigious award this year. The EPA presented the award to WIN for Asthma at the Communities in Action National Asthma Forum in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 2010.

"EPA is recognizing WIN for Asthma for their outstanding efforts to reduce the burden of asthma for families in their communities," says Mike Flynn, director of EPA's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. "This program is achieving positive environmental and health outcomes, and EPA applauds their innovation and dedication to controlling asthma."

With childhood asthma rates in Northern Manhattan four times the national average, the Ambulatory Care Network at NewYork-Presbyterian partnered with the community of Washington Heights/Inwood to initiate the Washington Heights–Inwood Network (WIN) for Asthma program. The program began in May 2006 to improve outcomes for children with poorly controlled asthma by providing culturally relevant asthma education. To date, community health workers have enrolled 400 families. Families who completed the one-year program reported a greater than 50 percent drop in emergency room visits, a greater than 50 percent drop in hospitalization and a 30 percent drop in school absenteeism. Caregivers also reported that they were significantly more confident in caring and controlling their child's asthma after participating in the program.

For more information about EPA's National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management, visit www.epa.gov/asthma.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, based in New York City, is the nation's largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital, with 2,353 beds. The Hospital has more than 1 million inpatient and outpatient visits in a year, including more than 220,000 visits to its emergency departments — more than any other area hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division. One of the most comprehensive health care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the nation's leading medical colleges: Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.