City of Louisville Launches Asthma Prevention Initiative

Friday marked the launch of AIR Louisville, a data-driven collaboration among public, private and philanthropic organizations to improve asthma with digital health technology.

The initiative will use Madison, Wisc.-based Propeller Health’s medication inhaler sensors to track when, where and how Louisville residents experience asthma symptoms. When used with Propeller’s personalized asthma management system, the data will help patients better control their symptoms and inform municipal decisions regarding clean air, explained Ted Smith, chief of civic innovation at Louisville Metro Government and executive director of the Institute for Healthy Air Water and Soil.

A grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will provide more than 2,000 sensors to city residents who will collect data over the two-year program.

Along with Propeller, AIR Louisville is comprised of the City of Louisville and its mayor’s office, IHAWS, the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, and local employers, health plans and specialty clinics.

Louisville is considered one of the 20 “most challenging” cities for asthma sufferers, and the state of Kentucky has the fourth highest adult asthma prevalence in the U.S. — Kellen Owings