May is asthma awareness month and Montana State Asthma Control Health Educator William Biskupiak, has been tracking the number of people suffering from asthma in the state.

“In Montana, an estimated 89,400 people currently have asthma,” said Biskupiak. “About 25% of adults and 32% of children report missing at least one day of work or school in the last year. So there is certainly a high prevalence here and it does affect a lot of Montana citizens.”

The Asthma Control Program hopes to educate those with uncontrolled asthma on how to manage their asthma in their home and the community.

“In addition to that, we also have initiatives in the school setting such as our school asthma mini grant for school nurses and certified asthma educators,” Biskupiak said. “They can carry out different education projects and policy initiatives and also get continuing education to help them better serve the students in their school.”

According to Biskupiak, Montana asthma reports have stayed steady over the past few years and are a little lower than the national rate.

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