School nurse earns asthma grant

Del Zetterberg, RN, has been named a recipient of the School Nurse Mini-Grant Program by the Montana Asthma Control Program, a program within the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.  The amount of the grant is $500.

Ms. Zetterberg is a school nurse with the Plains Public Schools, where she works with students and their families to ensure students’ health and well-being.  Ms. Zetterberg is among 33 school nurses awarded grants by the Montana Asthma Control Program. 

Ms. Zetterberg is providing asthma education and training to school staff members.  Katie Loveland, MPH, MSW, Program Manager at the Montana Asthma Control Program notes that “It is our pleasure to partner with Ms. Zetterberg in working towards our shared goal of creating asthma friendly schools.  We appreciate the positive contribution that Ms. Zetterberg is making to this effort.”

Asthma, a chronic disorder of the airways, affects approximately 24,000 children ages 0-17 in Montana.  Nationwide, seven million children currently have asthma, and asthma is one of the leading causes of school absences across the country.

The School Nurse Mini-Grant Program was created by the Montana Asthma Control Program to enable school nurses in Montana to work towards creating asthma friendly schools.  Grant money is provided to school nurses to enable them to provide school-based asthma management and training.  Funding is provided by a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

For more information about asthma, and the Montana Asthma Control Program, please visit www.dphhs.mt.gov/asthma.