About Us

For 35 years, we have supported patients with allergies, asthma & related conditions to improve care and quality of life.

Mission

The mission of Allergy & Asthma Network is to end the needless death and suffering due to asthma, allergies and related conditions through outreach, education, advocacy and research.

How Our Programs Help Patients and Caregivers

  • Outreach: We have a volunteer network that provides support to patients, an award-winning magazine, a series of patient guides written so you can better manage your condition and resources to support you – including an Asthma Storylines app and resources to help you afford your medications.
  • Education: The Network provides printed and digital resources to give patients access to guidelines-based information, monthly webinars with national experts, continuing education for healthcare professionals and tools to help you work with your healthcare provider to make the best decisions for your life.
  • Advocacy: We empower stakeholders to impact public policy and get involved in advocating for asthma and allergy issues with their elected officials. Each year, the Network leads the way for an impactful advocacy day on Capitol Hill where patients and healthcare providers come together to visit their legislators and make their voices heard.
  • Research: We work with patients to conduct qualitative patient insights research; we organize patients focus groups to identify unmet patient needs; and we help connect patients with opportunities to participate in engagement in all phases of research. We work to ensure that the patient perspective is included in all aspects of allergy and respiratory care.

A few of the ways we help patients and caregivers include:

Have a specific question or concern?

Call our Patient Hotline at 800-878-4403

Having trouble affording your asthma medication?
¿Necesita ayuda y recursos en español?

Check out our Spanish website

Want to take action on an advocacy issue or find out how to contact your state or national legislator?

Visit our Advocacy page

Want to get involved in research as a patient advisor or enroll in a clinical trial?

Visit our Research page

Allergy & Asthma Network continues to be committed to addressing the emerging community needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic: 

How Our Work Helps the Broader Allergy and Asthma Community at Large

As an innovator in encouraging family participation in treatment plans, Allergy & Asthma Network specializes in making accurate medical information relevant and understandable to all while promoting standards of care that are proven to work. We believe that integrating prevention with treatment helps reduce emergency healthcare visits, keeps children in school and adults at work, and allows participation in sports and other activities of daily life.

We bring the patient voice to meetings and conferences about medication development, regulatory issues and discussions about chronic disease management. You can find us at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on Capitol Hill or at professional conferences (AAAAI, ACAAI, ATS, AARC, NASN and more). We present the USAsthma Summit each year as a part of our work with state asthma programs through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Initiatives, Campaigns and Partnerships

Partnership is an important focus of the work of Allergy & Asthma Network. We believe in providing patients, families and providers with valuable information to improve health outcomes and quality of life. By partnering with other organizations on projects and campaigns, we amplify the voice and concerns of patients and expand the reach of our messages.

Health focused campaigns bridge the gap between research, patients, families and caregivers. They help to provide a better future for people with asthma, allergies and related conditions by educating, advocating for and providing support services to improve health outcomes.

Some of the partnerships and campaigns that we are currently a part of include:

Photo of a doctor testing a young boy for asthma at a screening event at a public sporting event

Global Advocacy

Global Allergy and Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP)

GAAPP is a global organization that supports and empowers patients with allergies, asthma, atopic eczema and urticaria by protecting their rights and insisting on the duties of governments, health-care professional organizations, and the general public.

Allergy & Asthma Network President and Chief Executive Officer Tonya Winders serves as President of GAAPP through 2021, leading this collaborative partnership of over 50 partner organizations.

Define Your Asthma Rights Campaign

Severe asthma impacts a patients’ quality of life and it is important for patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals and the public understand the rights of patients in the care of their respiratory disease.

Breathless Documentary

The story of a life with severe asthma.

 

Health Equity

Not One More Life

Not One More Life logo

Founded by LeRoy Graham, MD, FCCP, in 2003 to address health disparities, Not One More Life (NOML) merged with Allergy & Asthma Network in 2019; NOML continues its work as a program of the Network. The NOML program works with communities of faith in 25 local partnerships with hospitals, asthma coalitions, schools and other groups to bring asthma screenings, education, counseling and referrals tailored to the needs of African Americans with asthma. 

 Steroid Stewardship

OCS Overexposed: Thinking Beyond the Burst

OCS Overexposed is a national education campaign developed in collaboration with more than 10 patient advocacy and medical societies to raise awareness of appropriate OCS use and reveal OCS overuse for what it often is – a treatment plan that is no longer working. The campaign has also developed the Oral Corticosteroid Stewardship Statement.

Image from the OCS website that says: Do you know the truth about OCS?
Click to go to OCS Overexposed Website for video and other resources.

Severe Asthma

Be the Boss of your Asthma

Managing your asthma begins with you. This program helps patients learn the facts of asthma control and helps them talk to their doctor to get the right diagnosis. Videos and written resources help patients who may be dealing with severe eosinophilic asthma.

 

Severe Asthma Foundation

Allergy & Asthma Network and the Severe Asthma Foundation (SAF) merged in 2018 to raise awareness and promote research of severe asthma; SAF continues as a Severe Asthma Awareness & Research program of the Network. The goal of the program is to bring to light the prevalence of severe asthma and help educate patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals and advocates about this debilitating, life-threatening disease. “All asthma is NOT the same – it’s a multifaceted disease and it’s important that patients with chronic, recurring symptoms consult with an asthma specialist,” says Donna Jean Matlach, who co-founded SAF with Brenda Young in 2015 and currently serves on Allergy & Asthma Network’s Board of Directors.

 

Asthma: Take Action. Take Control. 

The CHEST Foundation and Allergy & Asthma Network have joined forces in the Asthma: Take Action. Take Control. campaign to provide resources and raise awareness of difficult-to-control asthma. 

 

Shared Decision-Making 

A tool for patients and providers to use together to decide the next steps in treating severe asthma.

Severe Asthma — ACAAI & CHEST Foundation

http://asthmarelief.acaai.org/

https://asthma.chestnet.org/sdm-tool/

 

Pediatric Asthma – ACAAI

KidsAsthmaRelief.acaai.org

 

Allergen Immunotherapy – ACAAI

AllergyRelief.acaai.org

 

Atopic Dermatitis – ACAAI

EczemaRelief.ACAAI.org

Access to Personal Health Information

Backpack Health

Backpack Health, a cloud-based medical data storage service for people with chronic and rare diseases, is partnering with Allergy & Asthma Network to provide patients and parents of children with respiratory and allergic diseases with the tools necessary to ensure that their personal health information is consolidated in one place and easily accessible at all times. This partnership will also connect allergy and asthma users to critical resources and research opportunities.

 

Atopic Dermatitis

More Than Skin Deep

Five organizations serving the eczema community joined together to make sure FDA staff, drug and medical device developers, and other stakeholders heard directly from people living with eczema about the many burdens of the condition and the treatment outcomes that matter most to them.  A report will be released in 2020.

 

Altogether Eczema – Global Network for Eczema & Atopic Dermatitis 

A global partnership designed to bring people with eczema and atopic dermatitis together to share experiences, explore issues and stories that matter and act for changes that will improve the lives of patients.

 

Food Allergy

No Appetite for Bullying

kaléo, along with the four major advocacy organizations focus on life-threatening allergies, through the initiative, No Appetite for Bullying, to raise awareness about the prevalence and potential dangers of food allergy bullying.

 

Food Allergy Collaborative

Collaborative of food allergy organizations working to pass the FASTER Act and work toward accelerating the development of new therapies and ultimately, finding a cure.

Our History

Allergy & Asthma Network was founded in 1985, when Nancy Sander, mother of a young daughter with severe asthma and environmental and food allergies, had difficulty finding patient-friendly information on asthma and allergies. Home management tools were few and a mother’s concerns regarding her child’s condition were often ignored. What started as a grassroots effort at a kitchen table with a phone and a newsletter written on a typewriter has grown into the leading nonprofit patient-centered network uniting individuals, families, healthcare professionals, industry leaders and government decision-makers to improve health and quality of life for the millions of people affected by asthma, allergies and related conditions.

We are here to help.

Photo collage of Allergy & Asthma Networks programs founder Nancy Sander and current CEO Tonya Winders
Graphic of the Guidestar platinum seal of transparency
Graphic for Best in America independent charities

Awards

2019

  • Healthline.com Best Asthma Blogs of 2019

 

2018

  • Distinguished Service Award, American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: Tonya Winders, President/CEO, Allergy & Asthma Network
  • Communicator Award, Understanding Atopic Dermatitis

 

2017

  • APEX Award of Excellence, Understanding Allergies
  • National Health Information Award – Gold Award, Understanding Anaphylaxis

 

2016

  • Healthline.com Best Asthma Blogs of 2016


2015

  • Healthline.com, Best Asthma Blogs of 2015
  • APEX Award of Excellence, “Breathe Better at Home, School and Work” brochure series
  • Communicator Award, “Understanding Asthma” 

 

2014

  • Woman in Allergy Award, American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: Nancy Sander, founder, Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics
  • Healthline.com Best Asthma Blogs of 2014
  • National Health Information Merit Award, Nasal Sprays poster 
  • APEX Award of Excellence: Respiratory Inhalers poster series (Respiratory Inhalers At A Glance, Respiratory Inhalers Side by Side, Nasal Sprays)

 

2013

  • APEX Award of Excellence: Fun, Fit & Breathing Free EIB Calendar
  • Power of A Gold Award, American Society of Association Executives (ASAE): Anaphylaxis Community Experts (ACE) program
  • National Health Information Merit Award: My Personal Allergy & Asthma Guide

 

2012

  • Distinguished Service Award, American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI): Nancy Sander
  • Communicator Award, Allergy & Asthma Today, Winter 2011