Hospital highlights

May is allergy and asthma awareness month. Asthma affects an average of one out of every 10 school-aged children in the United States. Asthma is a serious, sometimes life-threatening chronic respiratory disease that affects the quality of life for almost 25 million Americans, including an estimated 7 million children. In Whitman County, one of every 9 adults has asthma (higher than the state average). In addition, asthma is a leading cause of hospital emergency department visits and school absenteeism.

Asthma is a disease of the lungs in which the airways become blocked or narrowed causing bre...