| How does Healthy Homes Iowa work? |
Through Healthy Homes Iowa, households with children suffering from asthma will receive home repairs to address asthma triggers, and families will receive tailored health education to self-manage asthma and maintain a healthy home.
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| How do housing conditions cause asthma? |
Common household substances including mold, dust, chemicals, and pests can trigger an attack. Children with developing lungs are particularly vulnerable to experiencing asthma symptoms. Healthy Homes Iowa will remediate household asthma triggers and repair the source of the problem in the home, such as leaky plumbing and old carpet.
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| Who is Healthy Homes Iowa? |
Healthy Homes Iowa is a collaboration among Polk County Housing Trust Fund, Polk County Health Department, Mercy Medical Center, Broadlawns Medical Center, UnityPoint Health, the City of Des Moines, Viva East Bank, the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, EveryStep, Polk County Public Works, Des Moines Public Schools, Telligen Community Initiative and Rebuilding Together. Healthy Homes Iowa is funded in part by BUILD Health Challenge, which supports community collaborations using non-clinical approaches that give everyone a fair chance to be healthy. The BUILD Health Challenge is an effort founded by The Advisory Board Company, the de Beaumont Foundation, the Colorado Health Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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| Am I eligible for Healthy Homes Iowa? |
You may be eligible if a child in your household suffers from asthma and you live in the city limits of Des Moines. Contact the program staff at healthyhomes@everystep.org or (515) 333-4549.
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| How can I contact Healthy Homes Iowa? |
This program is located at the EveryStep Bright Kavanagh building at 3000 Easton Boulevard, Des Moines, Iowa 50317. You can contact the program staff at healthyhomes@everystep.org or (515) 333-4549.
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| What are people saying about Healthy Homes Iowa? |
Dr. Anderson-Suddarth, M.D.
Healthy Homes Iowa is beneficial for children presenting to the Blank Emergency Department with asthma exacerbations. With the help of our care manager, we can identify children that would benefit, and refer them to this valuable service. They can get the multidisciplinary help they need to better control their asthma, which will help them to have less ill days, less ED visits, and ultimately better quality of life.
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Sara Schutte-Schenck, D.O., FAAP
Healthy Homes Iowa offers patients with potential environmental triggers of respiratory conditions and their families an opportunity to impact their medical care, utilization and long-term health outcomes. Overall, improving their quality of life. Mercy Children's Hospital and Clinics welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with this expanding program and its partners in advancing the care of these families in the Des Moines community. |
Shelly Hutchings, RN, Pediatric Health Coach
Our pediatric population has several children with uncontrolled asthma. What we are finding is often these children are living in an environment surrounded with triggers, making their asthma very difficult to manage. Through the use of Healthy Home Iowa we are able to improve the conditions in which these children live, such as replacing the flooring or fixing a leaky roof. It is through this program we are able to decrease their exposure to these triggers, therefore improving their health and making their asthma easier to manage. |
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