Patient Donates Asthma-Friendly Stuffed Bears to NMCP

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (NNS) -- Naval Medical Center Portsmouth received a visit June 20 from a girl with big ambitions - Juliana Conza, 10, stopped by the Pediatrics Ward to distribute 10 certified asthma and allergy friendly bears for the patients, giving out six bears and leaving behind four more for future patients.

Conza also the 2013 Miss Virginia Beach Preteen, raised money through fundraisers at two local restaurants to purchase the bears. She got the idea from the Environmental Protection Agency website after having a severe asthma attack in March that brought her to the NMCP emergency room.

"I read on the EPA website about a guy in Phoenix, Ariz., who raised money for stuffed bears," Conza said. "So we had fundraisers at IHOP and at Sweet Frogs and raised $320, enough to buy 20 bears for 'Juliebug's Bear Hugs.'"

Conza, whose nickname is Juliebug, was diagnosed with asthma when she was in kindergarten. After years of her condition being well-controlled, exposure to environmental triggers led to a series of asthma attacks, one of them serious.

"I had an asthma attack at home and missed seven days of school," Conza said. "I could not stop coughing and had trouble breathing. Two nebulizer treatments didn't help. Once I got to the emergency room, they gave me another nebulizer and steroids to clear my lungs. [The ER staff] made me feel better."

Quickly assessing and treating severe asthma attacks is an area of expertise for NMCP, which provides state-of-the-art asthma care.

"Portsmouth is a multi-specialty group with pediatric allergy, pulmonary and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit," said Capt. Rees Lee, Pediatrics Department head. "We can care for the entire range, from the most severe to the run-of-the-mill asthma. We exceed general community standards as a result.

"And we have made efforts throughout the Portsmouth enterprise, at the branch health clinics and the main campus, to promote spirometry to objectively assess asthma status," Lee continued. "The fact that we do this puts us ahead of most care in the community. We can pick up asthma symptoms earlier. The whole nation is doing this, but Portsmouth is using it at a greater rate than the community."

Spirometry is the most common pulmonary function test, which measures lung function, specifically the amount and/or speed of air that can be inhaled and exhaled. Spirometry is an important tool used for generating pneumotachographs, which are helpful in assessing conditions such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

"We also have an asthma protocol, where we provide a written action plan before a patient is discharged - a written treatment guide for use during an asthma attack, not just verbal guidance," Lee added. "Our Pediatric Medical Home Port received the Level 3 National Committee for Quality Assurance certification because of these things that we are doing to proactively address common chronic diseases."

A new asthma action plan was created for Juliana and more triggers were identified for her to avoid. Now that Conza's asthma is under control again, she continues to keep up with her medications and avoids environmental triggers.

"Being around a smoker is a big trigger for her," said mom Lorie Conza, a former active duty nurse who worked in NMCP's Labor and Delivery. "With both of us parents in the medical field, we help monitor her condition at home. But she had a cold and I missed that something was going on with her lungs. That was humbling for me as her mom."

Using asthma control as her Miss Virginia Beach Preteen platform issue, Juliana helps promote asthma awareness by distributing EPA materials about asthma triggers, as well as a children's book about air quality to 3-8 year olds, recently reading to other children at her elementary school and during a visit to a daycare center.

For more news from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, visit www.navy.mil/local/NMCP/.