L’Observateur / September 6, 2000

BUNKIE – The Department of Medicine of the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport recently sponsored an asthma camp for children of St. John theBaptist Parish in Bunkie. Funding for Camp Bon Air was provided by the LouisianaEnvironmental Action Network.

Campers and parents were escorted to and from Camp Bon Air by the St. JohnSheriff’s Office on a first-class tour bus provided by Louisiana Coaches. Twosheriff’s deputy cars were provided at no charge by Sheriff Wayne Jones for the transport. River Parishes Hospital provided the meeting rooms needed for campercheck-in and parents’ informational meeting prior to the camp. Fifteen physiciansfrom the departments of medicine and pediatrics, 10 respiratory therapists, seven nurses and three social workers provided the medical team to supervise every moment of the campers stay.

Three of St. John Parish’s own swimming instructors, Kelly Jones, MonicaScioneaux and Michelle Jensen, taught swimming classes, providing the recommended athletic activity for asthmatics.

LaPlace nurses Tiffanie Bourgeois, Erin Hurry, Todd Keller, Pam Pourciau, Beth Roussel and Michelle Zorn signed up for the camp to provide not only excellent nursing care but familiar faces and a “home away from home” atmosphere for the campers.

Camp administrator Dr. Patricia Williams Landry, a resident of LaPlace, made sureeach parent had a direct line to her personal cell phone for the duration of the camp. Each child had access to telephone calling cards to call home whenever theywished to.

Medical directors of the camp were Bettina Hilman, M.D. and Keith Payne, M..D.,pulmonary specialists, who provided the medical expertise to guide these children through four days of intensive asthma education mixed with equally intensive summer activities and a lot of fun. Area physicians communicated with Dr. Hilmanto ensure continuity in medical care for the campers.

Asthma is a disease of the airways of the lungs that results in the narrowing of the network of tubes bringing air into the lungs. In the asthmatic individual, thisairway narrowing occurs too much and too easily in response to a wide variety of provoking stimuli (dusts, sulfur dioxide, ozone, exercise, allergens, etc). Thepatient usually complains of difficulty with breathing, wheezing or tightness in the chest. Symptoms of asthma can come on within minutes, in which case theyusually disappear quite rapidly with the use of a bronchodilator. Exercise in itselfcan trigger an asthma attack in some individuals, so that the asthmatic child is often unable to participate in many activities during childhood. Sleeping away fromhome can be off limits to the asthmatic child due to the fear of asthmatic attacks.

Camp Bon Air provided the medical supervision in a setting of activities that could be enjoyed by all of the campers. For some of the children and their parents, thiswas the camper’s first sleep-over away from home. Proper medication and intenseasthma education for the campers made it possible for all of the children to participate in an exhausting array of activities. Exhausting for the medical staff,that is, not for these campers. The Bon Air campers went “full speed ahead” from7 a.m. to 10 p.m. playing sports, swimming, hiking on nature trails, treasurehunting, performing in talent night and making jewelry or other crafts.

Each camper was supplied with his or her own personal camera to record their memories of Camp Bon Air.

A highlight of the camping experience was the personal tutoring on the football field in “punt, pass and kick” lessons from LSU athletes Jarvis Green and Elice Parker Jr. An additional visit from Dan Alexander, running back from NebraskaUniversity, motivated the campers further in realizing that asthma need not limit their goals or activities in life. Alexander is an asthmatic.Half of the daytime camp schedule was spent in asthma education. Lessons werefun and included games and computer programs specifically designed for asthma education.

According to Dr. Landry, “the parents started calling on the third day of campbecause the children were not calling home. They were having such a good timethat they weren’t asking for the calling cards to call home.” There was not oneinjury or asthma attack during the camp activities. But then these campers hadbecome “little experts” on managing their own disease, under the supervision of the most highly trained medical staff of Camp Bon Air.

One final comment from a parent to one physician, Shankar Lakhani, M.D., revealedthe success of the camping experience for all. The parent wanted to know if nextyear the camp duration could be extended from three nights to an entire week. Dr.Landry responded that she wasn’t sure that the non-asthmatic medical team could keep up with the active campers for that extended period. “This group of campersfeels that they can do anything with proper management of their asthma,” said Dr.

Landry. ” I am sure that the asthma education and increased self-esteem will makea difference in the futures of these campers. That was the purpose of Camp BonAir.”For more information call the office of Patricia Williams Landry Ph.D. at (225)763-3960.

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