Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (Lifeline)

This July marks the 20th anniversary of Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System’s Asthma Day Camp. Since the camp’s inception, nearly 500 children with asthma, ages 6 through 12, have enjoyed a five-day summer camp experience. The camp has yielded lasting benefits for campers, including reducing their numbers of school absences, physician and emergency room visits and admissions to the hospital.

“Over the past seven years, we’ve used a survey to collect information from parents one year after their child attends camp,” says Marie Kasamatsu, RRT, Director of Respiratory Care/Neurodiagnostics at Salinas Valley Memorial. “The surveys reflect an average 62 percent decrease in school absences, an average 65 percent reduction in visits to the emergency room and an average 59 percent decrease in hospital admissions due to asthma. The increased confidence of the children, and these results, continue to tell us that the camp is a success.”

Earlier this year the Board of Directors dedicated the Asthma Day Camp in Dr. Velcoff’s honor and officially approved its new name: Mark Velcoff, MD, Asthma Day Camp. “It’s common for children with asthma, and their parents, to be fearful of physical activity or anything that seems to trigger an asthma attack,” says Mark Velcoff, MD, an Allergist and camp co-founder with Respiratory Therapists Jill Houlette and Bruce Winge. “The more we can make children aware of how to manage their asthma, the more we empower them to overcome the fear and enjoy a healthy, active life.”

MaryJo Thomas, RRT, teaches a class.

Respiratory therapists Vince Beltran, Mary Jo Evans, Albert Low and Jill Houlette are the heart of the staff at Asthma Day Camp. They are joined by volunteer physicians, nurses and other respiratory therapists. The primary goals of the camp are to help each camper increase self knowledge, self care and self esteem. Asthma Camp provides a safe, nurturing environment where children can enjoy a variety of fun activities while learning to manage their asthma. “We want the kids to know that there are many others, just like them, who have asthma,” says Steven Prager, MD, an Allergist who has served as a camp physician for eight years. “We spend time with each child helping them understand asthma, the importance of taking medications, and how and when to take meds, so they can take better care of themselves. Because I see many of these children in my practice, I know that after camp, they are more confident in participating in sports, sleep-overs, games and other activities that kids like to do.”

Parent education is seen as critical to a child’s success at long-term management of asthma. “We provide a binder, in English and Spanish, to each family when the child is registered for camp,” says Houlette. “It is designed to help parents prepare their child for the camp experience, serves as a workbook for the children during camp, and gives the entire family a reference guide for the future.”

Fourteen hospital departments and volunteers work year-round to make Asthma Day Camp possible. Local businesses and pharmaceutical companies donate lunches and snacks for the week. The Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital Service League and Children’s Miracle Network have provided major contributions in support of the camp.

“It’s very rewarding to receive news clips or notes from parents about campers who have gone to college on athletic scholarships, started families or pursued professional careers,” says Houlette. “We’re hoping to have many alumni from our 19 prior camps at this year’s camp. It’s so inspiring for the kids to see people who have overcome asthma and achieved amazing things. After camp, the kids think, ‘I can do it.’ It makes their own dreams seem more realistic.”