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Child of the Month
J.R. is a 6 year-old African-American boy with persitent asthma who had missed over 15 days of school over the last 4 months. He had been taken to the emergency room for repiratory distress on 3 occasions in the last 6 months. Although the child had been prescribed long term control medication for his asthma, due to fear and lack of understanding, the mother had refused to give it to J.R. daily. The child was identified at TCC as being in poor control of his asthma and was referred to the TCC Community Health Worker (CHW). The CHW visted his home, did a home environment assessment and educated J.R.'s mom and dad about asthma, focusing on the myths related to the use of inhaled cortisteroids. With the help and support of TCC's CHW, J.R.'s family agreed to try the long term control medication and now J.R. is symton free, in school and thriving.
Last Month:

Homelessness is a prevalent problem in Long Beach. Unfortunately, those without homes are hesitant to share that information with people who can help them. Recently, a questionnaire was created to help doctors at The Children’s Clinic (TCC) to determine if their own patients were homeless.

After discussing the questionnaire with the mother of a patient, TCC’s Medical Director learned that the mother and her 2 children had spent the night sleeping on a porch in Los Angeles. They had taken the train to take the daughters to school but did not have the money to get back to the area. In addition, the family’s prior living situation had left them without a place to live in Long Beach.

The family was referred to The Children’s Clinic at The Multi-Service Center for the Homeless where they were able to get the assistance they needed. Hopefully, they will never have to sleep on the streets again.