Community Benefit Activities
hired to help educate parents about
this serious condition. Ms. Schwier’s
own daughter, Anna, was diagnosed
with asthma at just 18 months of
age, so her work is far more than a
job. “Education is my passion,” she
says. “Asthma is a very serious and
complicated condition.”
Ms. Schwier previously was a
respiratory therapist in the pediatric
intensive care unit at McLane
Children’s, and offers free monthly
Saturday classes for asthmatic children
and their families at the pediatric
hospital, and at Baylor Scott & White
Hillcrest Medical Center in Waco. Each
four-hour session includes lunch and
an intensive parent-education program
about asthma and how to manage a
child’s condition. “Every participant
gets a free spacer that attaches to their
asthma inhaler to help more of the
medicine reach the lungs,” she says.
In addition, a free five-day summer
camp is sponsored by McLane
Children’s Hospital for young patients
with asthma. “Camp Wheeze Away is
held each July at Peaceable Kingdom
Retreat for Children, which is just
about 20 minutes south of Killeen,”
Ms. Schwier says. “The campers get
at least one hour of asthma education
every day. They learn that there are
other children just like them, and
with proper asthma management, they
can do everything that people without
asthma can do.”
For more information, visit
swchildrens.org and search “Asthma
Outreach Program.”
Scott & White engages in a variety of outreach efforts, delivering
care, enlisting community members to take part in their own health
management, and teaching ways to lead healthier lives. Activities include:
• Community health education
• Health research
• ducation of healthcare
E
professionals
• artnerships with local
P
school districts
• ree health screenings
F
and immunizations
Teaming up with Temple
Independent