A week and a half camp for children diagnosed with asthma commenced at the Stoney Ground Primary School on Tuesday January 7. It is being conducted by Kathy Frame, an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University, in New Jersey in the United States, where she teaches pediatric nursing. She also coordinates the school’s nursing programme.

She first came to Anguilla seven years ago on honeymoon and returned last year for vacation. It was on her second visit that she met School Nurse Mrs. Dana Ruan and spoke about the asthma camp for children as well as a session with teachers. The aim of the meeting with teachers, planned for January 11, is to discuss the development of a team of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defribulation (AED) trained professionals in the school setting.
Mrs. Frame said the asthma camp was designed to make the children feel very empowered to manage the control of asthma which among other difficulties includes difficult breathing. She is grateful to the American Red Cross for the provision of books and other assistance.
In a letter to parents and guardians seeking their approval for their children to attend the camp, Mrs. Frame wrote in part: “I m conducting a study to examine the effect of an Asthma Camp on how children with asthma feel about themselves…This study is part of my research at Rutgers University. The purpose of the study is to see if an Asthma Camp for children with asthma in Anguilla helps them to feel better about themselves. Your consent to have your child participate will allow me to administer pretest and post test questions to your child. Each test consists of 36 questions that deal with how pre-adolescents feel about themselves… Potential benefits may include increased knowledge of how to help children with asthma increase their good feelings in regard to school, teachers, friends and health.

All participating children will receive a pen and a key chain at the end of the study. In addition, the names of the students will be entered into a raffle to be eligible to win one hundred US dollars.
Mrs. Frame is fond of young people. “I love children. They are my life,” she commented, adding “I love Anguilla.”
The Asthma Camp will continue until January 15 and further work will be continued by the Anguillian School Nurse, Mrs. Ruan. It is hoped that the school camp will eventually include children from all the schools on the island when Mrs. Frame might be able to obtain bigger donations towards that end.
Mrs. Ruan thinks the Asthma Camp is a good idea. She is the only School Nurse in Anguilla and is well acquainted with the varied duties and tasks of the job, having worked for many years in the US system in St. Thomas and attended a School Nurse Conference in the United States.

Students participating in Asthma Camp. Backrow: Left - Kathy Frame, Right - Dana Ruan, along with two parents

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