The American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest, based in Brookfield, was awarded a three-year, $2 million grant by the United Health Foundation to help support the “Partners for Asthma Action” project in 90 clinics across the Midwest, including the Milwaukee metro area.
Partners for Asthma Action aims to improve the quality of life, school achievement and life prospects of more than 180,000 low-income children living with asthma in Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, St. Louis and a fifth city to be identified later this year.
The goal is to improve the quality of life of children living with asthma; enhance awareness of asthma treatment and education resources; establish a sustainable capacity of local public health and social service agencies to remove asthma environmental triggers; and identify and refer children with poorly managed asthma.
The grant is part of United Health Foundation’s “Helping Build Healthier Communities” program that aims to provide critical resources to nonprofit, community-based organizations across the country to improve communities’ health and well-being.
“We are thrilled to receive United Health Foundation’s support in helping us expand our work and enhance people’s health and well-being in greater southeast Wisconsin,” said Linda Witucki, executive director of the American Lung Association in Wisconsin. “By supporting Partners for Asthma Action, the United Health Foundation grant will help us significantly improve the quality of life of children in our community living with asthma.”
The grant was awarded on Saturday during the American Lung Association in Wisconsin’s annual O2 Oxygen Ball. All proceeds from the O2 Oxygen Ball support the Lung Association’s services in Wisconsin to improve lung health and prevent lung disease through education, advocacy and research.
“United Health Foundation is grateful for the opportunity to support the American Lung Association’s efforts in bringing new, innovative approaches in care,” said Dustin Hinton, chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin and Michigan, and a board member of the American Lung Association in Wisconsin. “The American Lung Association’s work in the community is showing significant results and enhancing people’s health and quality of life, particularly in underserved areas.”
Reaching more than 500,000 people each year, the Lung Association of the Upper Midwest is a regional charter of the national American Lung Association. The Lung Association of the Upper Midwest is comprised of 10 state associations across the Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The United Health Foundation, based in Minnetonka, Minn., was established by UnitedHealth Group of Minneapolis. To date, United Health Foundation has committed more than $285 million to programs and communities around the world.
