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Message from Breathmobile Medical Director

Dr. Mary E Bollinger You, too, can help make a difference for the children of Baltimore! The University of Maryland Hospital for Children Breathmobile, a mobile asthma clinic, is helping to control the asthma epidemic in Baltimore, where as many as 1 out of every 5 school children can be affected with this potentially life-threatening lung disease (more than twice the national average).

Children with asthma are 3 times more likely to miss school than children without asthma. Hospitalization and emergency room visits for Baltimore children are 2-3 times the national average. The Breathmobile is addressing this asthma problem by providing free preventive specialty asthma care to children right at their neighborhood school.

Please join our list of donors below to help battle asthma and keep children in school learning. Thank you for your support!

Dr. Mary Beth Bollinger
Breathmobile Medical Director

What is the Breathmobile?

In operation since the spring of 2002, the University of Maryland Hospital for Children's Breathmobile is a mobile allergy clinic that visits schools in Baltimore providing services to children with asthma. On board the Breathmobile, you'll find an asthma team that includes a pediatric allergist or pulmonologist, a pediatric nurse practitioner, a registered nurse and a driver. For additional information, please visit Breathmobile.

How Successful is the Breathmobile?

As of February 2015, the Breathmobile has provided ongoing preventive asthma care to more than 3,500 children. Data collected suggests the Breathmobile is responsible for a significant improvement in the children who are involved in the program, including a decreased number of lost school days, an increased use of preventive asthma medications and decreased number of emergency visits for asthma. Clearly this program is making a positive impact and improving the quality of life for children with asthma. It is also helping to tackle the asthma epidemic in Baltimore.

How Can You Be an Important Part of the Breathmobile's Success?

Each year the full budget of the Breathmobile must be raised through philanthropic gifts. You can become a supporter of this vitally needed program by making a donation to the Breathmobile. Gifts of all sizes are welcome. Listed below are some examples of how your dollars might be used.

What Does Your Donation Buy?

  • $20 Buys a spacer, a medical device to help a child with asthma use medicine correctly
  • $30 Buys allergy control covers to help a child with asthma avoid exposure to dust mites
  • $50 Buys filters to perform lung function testing on 20 children with asthma
  • $200 Will support a new patient visit, including lung testing and allergy testing
  • $800 Provides specialty asthma care for one child with asthma for an entire year
  • $1,500 Will support visits to one public school for a month
  • $20,000 Will support visits to one school for an entire year

Make a Donation

To make a tax-deductible donation to the Breathmobile:

  • Call the UMMS Foundation office at 410-328-5770 or
  • Use our Secure Online Contribution Form found on the UMMS Foundation Web site (select "Breathmobile" in the Donation Information Designation box).

Breathmobile Donors of $1000 and Above:

  • Abell Foundation
  • Aetna Foundation, Inc.
  • Allegis Group Foundation
  • AMERIGROUP Charitable Foundation
  • Amy Macht
  • Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America
  • AstraZeneca
  • Baker King Foundation
  • Baltimore City Public School System
  • Baltimore Community Foundation
  • Bank of America Foundation
  • Becton Dickinson and Company
  • CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
  • GANTECH, Inc.
  • George E. Skidmore
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Health Resources and Services Administration
  • Hecht's
  • ISG Sparrows Point LLC
  • Jay M. Klein
  • Jennifer J. Stearman
  • John J. Leidy Foundation, Inc.
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • Kids Campaign, Inc.
  • Kohl's Department Store
  • Law Office of Bernice Latou P.A.
  • Maryland State Department of Education
  • Merck & Company, Inc.
  • Middendorf Foundation, Inc.
  • Neil J. Bloom
  • Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation USA
  • Quality Health Foundation, Inc.
  • Rite Aid Foundation
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore Inc.
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities, Inc.
  • Salon No 39 Department DE Maryland
  • State of Maryland - Treasurer's Office
  • The Aber D. Unger Foundation, Inc.
  • The Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation Inc.
  • The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Incorporated
  • The Rouben and Violet Jiji Foundation
  • The Wiessner Foundation for Children
  • Thomas Wilson Sanitarium for Children of Baltimore City
  • Unilever Home & Personal Care - USA
  • United Way of Central Maryland

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