CHOP teams up with local contractors to renovate homes of children with asthma

WEST PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced the launch of a new program on Monday that includes renovating homes where children live with asthma.

The program, Community Asthma Prevention Program Plus (CAPP+) Home Repairs Program, is a partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC).

The pilot partnership will work with local contractors to renovate specific areas in homes that can trigger asthma.

According to CHOP, asthma affects approximately one out of four children in West Philadelphia.

"These are our children and we have a responsibility for all of them," says Mayor Jim Kenney. "We want to have local contractors, minority-owned, improve and expand their businesses, and employ more people, and we want to make sure that our kids have a fighting chance to make it in this world."

The new program expands more than 20 years of work in education and home visits to address the impact of unhealthy housing on pediatric asthma outcomes.

In the new program, when health workers make a home visit, they will evaluate the house for eligibility for basic repairs.

According to CHOP, PHDC will receive the evaluations, go out to the property with a community health worker, and create a work proposal on how and where to reduce asthma triggers.

Mom of six and a six-year-old boy with asthma, Danielle Davis Lee, went through that process after years of working with CHOP on education.

"We've done some things like mattress covers, taking down the blinds has helped significantly," she says. "I can only imagine what will happen when we get rid of major issues in the home. I thank God."

Lee is scheduled for repairs to start in January, which includes a full bathroom remodel, removing mold from the basement, replacing certain drains, and electrical work.

"The aesthetics can be whatever I am just want every child to get a chance, and that's what I want for my son," she says. "I think everyone in Philadelphia, every child deserves a chance."