The Asthma Center

History of The Asthma Center Education and Research Fund

The Asthma Center Education and Research Fund was founded in 1994 by physicians specializing in asthma and allergic disorders. Despite great advances in treatment and prevention in their specialty, these physicians observed unmet needs of chronic respiratory disease sufferers in the Delaware Valley. The region’s urban centers saw the greatest decline in quality of life and increase in emergency room visits due to a lack of information and proper treatment.

To change this situation, The Asthma Center Education and Research Fund publishes a free, comprehensive asthma manual. In addition, The Asthma Center Education and Research Fund has initiated asthma and allergy awareness programs through outreach efforts to the public via radio and print media, free screenings and lecture series.

Since its foundation, The Asthma Center Education and Research Fund has also supported original research in the specialty of asthma and allergy. Findings from these research efforts have been published in national peer-reviewed journals.

In addition, The Asthma Center Education and Research Fund supports local pollen and mold spore collection and interpretation here in the Delaware Valley allowing a better understanding of how these allergens play a role in local chronic respiratory disease.

Daily pollen and mold spore counts are available to the public and are reported to the National Allergy Bureau, a national database organized by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.