American Lung Association Applauds Signing of Bill to Allow Schools in Florida to Stock Asthma Medication

Statement of Ashley Lyerly, Senior Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association in Florida, in response to passage and signing of House Bill 883, sponsored by Representative Traci Koster and Senator Ed Hooper that will allow schools in Florida to stock asthma medications for student use.

“The American Lung Association thanks Representative Koster and Senator Hooper for their commitment to supporting safe access to asthma medication in schools. Their leadership on this issue will result in improved student safety, reductions in calls to emergency services and, ultimately, will save lives. The Lung Association is grateful for the support of the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate in unanimously passing the legislation and Governor DeSantis for signing House Bill 883 that will allow schools in Florida to provide more immediate access to medications for students with asthma. Specifically, the bill allows schools to maintain a supply of asthma medications, which students with asthma or who are in respiratory distress can use if necessary. Asthma can be a deadly disease if flare-ups are not treated immediately, so this bill has the potential to save lives for schools that take advantage of this authority.

“Asthma impacts millions of lives and has a tremendous impact on our nation’s healthcare system and economy. In the U.S., more than 25 million Americans, including 5.1 million children have asthma. In Florida, 269,934 children have asthma. Asthma is also responsible for more than $80 billion annually in economic costs and causes more than 5.2 million missed school days and 8.7 million missed days of work nationwide.

“Now that this law has been passed, the American Lung Association encourages schools in Florida to take the next step and put in place policies that allow the school to stock asthma medications. The American Lung Association as part of its Asthma Medications in Schools project has a set of materials, including a free online training course for school personnel, that may provide assistance. These materials can be accessed at Lung.org.”

For media interested in speaking with a policy or health expert about asthma among children or adults, contact Victoria O’Neill at [email protected] or 312-273-5890.