Daniela's Story

Helping families in need breathe easier

When Daniela first came to the Bayview Child Health Center suffering from severe asthma, she was three-and-a-half years old and had been to the Emergency Department four times the previous year. Doctors here put her on an inhaled medication immediately. “I felt really good about the care she got here even after just the first visit,” says Daniela’s mother Elizabeth. “Everyone was so pleasant and they made it really easy to get a nebulizer, which our other clinic didn’t.”

Elizabeth says the center also gave her ideas on cleaning techniques to minimize dust and is pleased with how quickly Daniela’s health has improved. “Since her first day here she hasn’t needed to go the Emergency Department—not once. That makes me feel more at peace knowing we won’t be making a trip to the hospital in the middle of the night.” Sarah Hemmer, M.D., is a pediatrician at the center and gives Elizabeth a great deal of credit for Daniela’s improvement. “We worked with her (the mother) over several visits on how to give the medications properly so she feels empowered and knows how to take care of Daniela’s asthma now.”

Another way the center is helping Daniela is by showing her how to keep her weight under control, which can help improve asthma symptoms. “Eating healthy can be difficult in a low-income neighborhood where there are typically fewer grocery stores and more fast food places,” says Dr. Hemmer. “So we set goals about what she should eat—for instance, only drinking one glass of juice a day instead of three—and Elizabeth has become very savvy about which foods are healthy for her daughter.”

Daniela’s health has improved dramatically since switching clinics, and because she goes to the Head Start program next door, she is also very comfortable here. “Every morning before school she makes a quick run through the clinic and says hi to the girls in front,” Elizabeth says. “They’re so nice to her—she loves it here.”