Detroit Health Department Receives More Than $1 Million in Grants [CHART]
The funding from foundations and the state will support efforts to reduce childhood health issues.
Metro Detroit foundations and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have granted more than $1 million to the Detroit Health Department for five programs.
The funding will support efforts to reduce childhood health issues, including Detroit’s higher-than-average asthma hospitalization rates.
One initiative will supply “smart inhalers” to track Detroiters’ asthma symptoms, says Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the executive director and health officer for the Detroit Health Department.
“Every time a child uses that inhaler it sends information up to the cloud … which sends real time information to other families with children with asthma about the fact of something they just used,” he says. “By being able to pinpoint particular places where children are using more than others we can equip families in real time on how to protect themselves and their children.”
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service, Detroit’s asthma rate is “significantly higher” than Michigan as a whole with hospitalization rates showing an even greater difference.
Rates of Asthma Hospitalization:
Detroit: The Current Status of the Asthma Burden by WDET 101.9 FM on Scribd
