WIN (Washington Heights/Inwood Network) For Asthma Program

Program Overview:
Childhood asthma rates in Northern Manhattan are four times the national average. The complexity and fragmentation of local health systems, combined with conflicts between cultural and clinical values, create significant challenges for this largely foreign-born, low-income community. In 2005, NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Department of Pediatrics, and community partners applied the principles of community-based participatory research to design and implement Washington Heights Inwood Network (WIN) for Asthma: a comprehensive program aimed at reducing the burden of asthma in the community.
Bilingual Community Health Workers (CHWs) serve as the single point of contact for families who require comprehensive asthma education, support, and multiple referrals for services such as housing, immigration, and mental health. CHWs are based at local community-based organizations (CBOs), allowing them to remain anchored in the community while also maintaining a strong presence in the hospital where, during daily rounds, they connect with families who require immediate support.

Mission/Goals:
• Strengthen community-wide network of care
• Improve pediatric asthma management
• Increase caregiver self-efficacy
• Reduce preventable asthma-related emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and missed school days.

Number of people served per year:
• Community health workers enroll approximately 120 families per year
• Over 300 community physicians trained in the Evidence based PACE training

Outcomes/ Results:
After 12 months in the program:
• Caregiver confidence in controlling their child’s asthma increased by 40%,
• ED and hospitalization rates decreased by more than 50%
• Child school absenteeism decreased by 30%.