Plans for asthma clinic could spell relief in 5th Ward

By Dana Benson

As an interventional pulmonologist, or lung specialist, William Lunn, M.D., sees many patients with asthma.

While they are certainly suffering from the disease, at least they are receiving treatment. Many other people, however, receive no asthma care because they are uninsured and lack the money for expensive medicines and other treatment.

That fact was brought home to Lunn when he volunteered at the Community Health Day organized by Baylor College of Medicine students last fall. At the city health department-operated Lyons Clinic in Houston's Fifth Ward, he noticed that there was an area called a chest clinic. Clinic manager Algia Hickenbotham said it was used for tuberculosis screening, but Lunn saw its potential as an asthma clinic.

Inspired by Baylor College of Medicine students

"I was inspired by the work that the Baylor students did in organizing the Community Health Day, and I started to wonder if there could be a way to actually treat chest diseases there," said Lunn, BCM assistant professor of medicine.

The clinic is still in the planning phases, but Lunn is enthusiastic about its potential for alleviating asthma in the community. Asthma medication and inhalers are expensive, he said. That's a barrier to many people, particularly those who are uninsured.

"There are many people who are living in a pretty expensive city on not that great of an income, and when you have to pay $90 for an inhaler, well, a lot of times these young families have other priorities," Lunn said.

Asthma is the most common childhood illness, and it's especially prevalent in Houston, where there are frequent high ozone days as well as a large petrochemical industry and many automobiles. Find out more about allergies at http://envirohealthhouston.org/concerns/allergies.html.

Expensive medications

If children who need medication and inhalers don't get them, they end up sick all the time, Lunn said.

"Those are the children with chronic wet coughs and ear infections. They often end up going to the emergency room and missing school. They can't participate in activities," he said. In extreme cases, asthma can prove deadly.

Through the combined efforts of the Lyon's Clinic, Baylor College of Medicine doctors and pharmaceutical companies, Lunn hopes to relieve the suffering of young patients afflicted with asthma. Services at the Lyon's Clinic, part of the Houston Department of Health and Human Services, are offered to residents free or at a nominal cost based on a sliding scale, explained Hickenbotham. Lunn plans to recruit BCM physicians to donate their time to work at the asthma clinic. Many of the pulmonary fellows (physicians receiving specialized training in treating lung diseases) have already expressed interest.

Fifth Ward need

"I thought it might be a unique opportunity to take advantage of that nice facility in the Fifth Ward community and of the Baylor doctors who would be willing to give their time," Lunn said. "It's a chance to see these young patients, give them medication and keep them in good health. The community is a winner, especially parents and children, and I think it would be really enriching for doctors as well."

Another key element of the clinic will be getting pharmaceutical companies to donate medications and inhalers. That industry has shown its willingness to support worthy projects in the community, Lunn said.

"I would be surprised if we can't get the support of the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical companies often get a bad rap, but in fact it's part of their mission to support and provide indigent care."

Lunn hopes to start seeing patients at the asthma clinic in May. He still has some details to iron out, including acquiring a spirometer, a device a patient blows into to measure breathing capacity. A system also needs to be put in place so patients' families can contact Baylor doctors if they have questions or concerns about their children's medications.

Lunn can relate to patients who suffer from asthma because it's something he dealt with as a child.

"When I was a kid, I got colds in the winter and I would get wheezy," he said. It wasn't severe asthma, but it was enough to limit my activity. I noticed I couldn't do the things I wanted to do in sports, and so I know what it's like for kids today to experience that."