I write about education in Oakland, Calif. and elsewhere in the Bay Area for the Oakland Tribune. I'm also a 2012 National Health Journalism Fellow, working on a project about childhood asthma and air quality.
Asthma is the most common cause of hospital stays for children. It can strike anyone, but has a disproportionate impact on low-income and African-American children. Katy Murphy, a 2012 National Health Journalism Fellow, shares lessons learned from her Fellowship project for the Oakland Tribune
The Breathmobile, an asthma clinic on wheels, helps hundreds of California schoolchildren receive the help they need to stave off trips to the hospital.
In high school, Pamela Tapia spent more time at home with her inhaler than at school with her teachers. Now that she has moved just a few miles away from the poor air quality in West Oakland, for the first time in four years, she celebrated an asthma-free birthday.
