Who We Are
Asthma Program

Contact Us

Questions? Ideas? Please email us at health.asthma@state.mn.us

Asthma Program
Minnesota Department of Health
Freeman Building 
625 Robert St. N.  
PO Box 64975 
St. Paul, MN 55164-0975 

Our mission

Improving asthma care and quality of life for people who have asthma.

Our vision

That all people in Minnesota who have asthma will have healthy environments and will be able to enjoy active lives because their asthma is well-controlled.

We work to provide resources to support the diagnosis, treatment, and management of asthma

Advancing the mission of improving asthma care and quality of life for all people who have asthma requires a united coalition of asthma partners and stakeholders. Asthma in Minnesota: A Strategic Framework for 2021-2030 provides strategies and action steps for Minnesota to achieve these goals and improve the health and quality of life for asthma patients and their families.

The program works to align with and build on the following seven goals:

• Advocacy - Build support for people who have asthma
• Partnerships - Build strong community and statewide partnerships to increase linkages to care, education, and community support for people living with asthma.
• Data - Collect, analyze, and use data on asthma, populations, and the environment.
• Health Equity - Work with individuals, communities, and health systems to create health communities to ensure that all people have the resources they need to be healthy.
• Healthy Environments - Reduce environmental factors that trigger asthma episodes.
• Asthma Management - Increase the number of people who have the information, skills, and tools, to manage their asthma successfully.
• Systems Change - Support development and piloting of new systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness of asthma management.

The Minnesota Asthma Advisory Committee

We convene quarterly the Minnesota Asthma Advisory Committee (AAC), a voluntary committee of health professionals, local public health, schools, and non-profit organizations that have a stake or could play a role in asthma control. AAC members provide clinical asthma expertise, input from their sector regarding asthma impacts, input on actions possible within their sector to address asthma, and recommendations on program direction. Members help connect the program to high-level partners who can integrate asthma care into systems and organizations throughout the state.

Partners

The MDH Asthma Program works with healthcare systems, local public health, schools, businesses, nonprofit organizations, communities, and other partners from across the state to improve outcomes and quality of life for people who have asthma. The MDH Asthma Program fosters communication and collaboration with existing partners and looks for opportunities to establish new connections and foster new partnerships statewide.

Funding

Minnesota is one of 24 state, territorial, and municipal partners that currently receives funding and technical support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Asthma Control Program. Since 1999, the Asthma Program has maintained an asthma surveillance system to better understand and describe the impact of asthma. We work to build strong community and statewide partnerships to increase linkages to care, education, and community support for people living with asthma.