Monongahela Valley Hospital in partnership with a variety of health care and social services agencies will emphasize asthma awareness with a special program for families.

Nikhil K. Davé, M.D., a physician on staff at Monongahela Valley Hospital, will be the featured speaker at the program on Saturday, March 10 at 10 a.m. at Monongahela Valley Hospital’s Anthony M. Lombardi Education Conference Center. Dr. Davé will offer an Asthma Discussion focusing on the latest treatments for asthma and also will participate in a question and answer session.

The program is free and open to the public.

“Dr. Davé’s staff will provide hands-on instruction, assistance with developing an asthma action plan and tips on controlling asthma triggers at home,” said Anita Leonard, RN, MPH, project coordinator who develops health-related screenings and programs for MVH. “Dr. Davé and his staff have extensive experience with asthma patients and will provide information that will be very helpful to those in attendance.”

Mrs. Leonard noted that, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Environmental Health, asthma is one of the most common and costly diseases in the United States. CDC analyzed data from the 2003 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). The results of that analysis indicated that 18.9% of high school students had been told by a doctor or nurse that they had asthma, 16.1% had current asthma, and 37.9% of those with current asthma had had an episode of asthma or an asthma attack during the 12 months preceding the survey. Asthma currently affects more than 17 million Americans and more than 4.8 million of them are children under the age of 18, she said.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder involving constriction of the muscles lining the bronchial airways and although there is no cure for asthma, there are effective treatment methods. Medication therapies are designed to minimize the airway inflammation component of asthma as well as to treat airway narrowing.

“The numbers are growing and the need to respond to this problem is increasingly urgent,” Mrs. Leonard stated. “Dr. Davé‘s program will focus on what can be done to help those affected by asthma. It’s important that asthmatics and their families understand what new treatments are available to help them control this disease.”

Mrs. Leonard noted that the MVH program is part of a local and national approach to make families more aware of ways to prevent and manage asthma. This includes educating, treating and providing continual medical care and monitoring for people who have asthma; changing behaviors that lead to asthma or worsening of the illness, and eliminating or avoiding “triggers” that cause asthma or other breathing problems. “Our program is supported by a who’s who in health care,” said Mrs. Leonard. “It includes the American Lung Association of PA, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Westmoreland Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc.

Families are encouraged to bring their children,” she said.

Dr. Davé, who has a private practice with offices in Charleroi Medical Center, received his Medical Degree in 1980 and joined the Medical Staff at MVH in 1991. He is board certified in pediatric medicine by the American Board of Pediatrics and in allergy and immunology by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology.

Although the March 10 program is free, advance registration is requested by calling Mrs. Leonard at 724-258-1318.

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