Mission Moment August 2023

Mayors United to Join Lung Association in Taming Extreme City Heat: As cities continue to grapple with record heat, mayors across the country have joined with the Smart Surfaces Coalition (SSC) a multiyear project to cool cities and metropolitan areas with Smart Surfaces: a cost-effective integrated solution including reflective (cool) roofs and pavements, green roofs, solar energy, porous pavements, rain gardens and trees. Smart Surfaces can cool cities by 5°F, deliver large reductions in flooding and resulting mold, and provide $10 in benefits and cost savings for every $1 spent. The mayors of Atlanta, Boston, Columbia, SC, Dallas, and New Orleans have signed up for the Cities for Smart Surfaces program, joining the city of Baltimore, recognizing that Smart Surfaces rapidly deliver climate change mitigation and adaptation. Learn more.

Prepare Your Child with Asthma to Go Back to School: Our 2023-2024 Back to School with Asthma campaign  focuses on steps parents can take to ensure that their child will be safe and healthy while at school including staying up-to-date on vaccinations and ensuring immediate access to asthma medication. We even have tips for college-bound young adults as they transition to self-managing their asthma. Lastly, we have important messages for schools on how to create asthma-friendly environments by addressing indoor air quality and establishing a stock asthma program. A new online learning course has recently launched for designated school personnel on how to implement a stock asthma medication program. 

Tools include:

• Asthma Basics, free online course
• Back to School with Asthma Checklist for Parents
• Back to School with Asthma Toolkit for Schools
• Stock Asthma Medication in Schools online course

Visit the Asthma Management in Schools page to learn more.

Help Support Public Health and Research: Thank you for your hard work last month to block the House spending bill that sought to cut billions of dollars from critical medical research and public health. Thanks to your action, the House postponed release of the bill and we have more time to keep up the pressure. Now we want to make sure the Senate does the right thing. Join us in protecting the future of advancements in lung health research by asking your Senator to invest in funding for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill. Ask Your Senator to Invest in Public Health and Research.

SUPPORT THE LUNG ASSOCIATION

Sign Up Now for Fall Events! Fall Walks and Treks are just around the corner and offer you a great way to get out and show your love for healthy lungs! Get involved!

Make a Difference with a Vehicle Donation: Did you know that you can donate a vehicle to the Lung Association? Your donation will provide funding for important research, education and advocacy that can help save lives. Learn more about our Vehicle Donation Program. Donating is easy with free pick-up and support – in fact, each vehicle donation is tax deductible! 

• Promoting youth activism through a student empowerment program.
• Educating all school personnel in strategies for conducting a brief intervention among students who use tobacco.
• Implementing an evidence-based tobacco prevention education program for grades 5-12.
• Offering an intervention alternative to suspension program for teens who use tobacco products and violate tobacco-free campus policies.

Download a detailed copy of our Comprehensive Approach to Ending the Youth Vaping Epidemic Model.

CALL TO ACTION: We invite all school administrations to become partners in implementing this comprehensive multi-tiered public health approach to addressing the e-cigarette epidemic among our youth throughout the school district and target communities you serve. Together we can make a difference. For more information, please contact us at [email protected].

PATIENT SUPPORT

Steps for Starting a Hospice Conversation with Your Healthcare Provider (funded and cannot be edited): In this new video, Dr. Jons shares how to start a conversation with your healthcare provider about palliative and hospice care. Many people do not understand the difference between palliative and hospice care and are uncertain how to have a conversation with their healthcare provider about these options. We encourage you to learn more about starting these difficult conversations at Lung.org/copd-care. 

HEALTHY AIR

New Video Supporting Advanced Clean Trucks Policy: The Lung Association recently launched new digital ads calling on states to adopt the Advanced Clean Trucks policy, which will get more zero-emission trucks on the road. This policy will help address the major health, equity and climate impacts caused by air pollution from the trucking sector. We’re running our ads online in five key states. To watch the ad and take action to support the transition to zero-emission trucks, please visit lung.org/trucks.

Your support is more important than ever!

Because of your support, we are conducting research to discover new ways to prevent, treat and even cure lung diseases like COVID-19, COPD asthma and lung cancer. Only through your generous support, our diverse and lifesaving work is possible. Thank you for all you do to help!