Respiratory Health Association is a nonprofit organization located on Chicago's Near West Side.
Initially founded as the Chicago Tuberculosis Institute, the organization has undergone several name changes since 1906 to incorporate its expanding mission. Today, the association fights lung disease and promotes healthy lungs through research, advocacy and educational efforts on behalf of individuals and families affected by lung cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other lung diseases.
The organization serves people living with lung disease through community-based interventions, including assisting with grants for research, creating policy initiatives that address long-term concerns on respiratory diseases, and developing programs to prevent lung disease.
History
1906 Chicago Tuberculosis Institute was founded "to advance the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis (TB) and to coordinate the care of those afflicted with this disease."
1956 Following a decline in TB deaths, National Tuberculosis Association voted to include other respiratory diseases its mission.
1964 The landmark Surgeon General's Report announced, "Cigarette smoking... is the single most avoidable cause of disease in our society and the most important public health issue of our time."
1972 The TB Institute of Chicago and Cook County changed its name to Chicago Lung Association. National TB and Respiratory Disease Association formally changed its name to American Lung Association.
1988 Chicago Lung Association organized a grassroots lobbying campaign to pass Chicago's first clean indoor air ordinance (34-8) restricting smoking in restaurants, workplaces and public spaces.
1993 Chicago Lung Association is renamed American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago (ALAMC).
1998 The State of Illinois expects to receive $9 billion over a 25-year period as part of a national settlement with tobacco companies. ALAMC hosts the first annual Hustle up the Hancock stairclimb up the John Hancock Center to raise funds for its mission; ALAMC administers 14,000 flu shots throughout metropolitan Chicago.
2005 The organization plays a key role in passing Chicago's 100% smoke-free ordinance, which eliminates or phases out smoking in all Chicago workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
2007 Illinois becomes the 22nd state in the nation to become 100% smoke-free in its workplaces. Smoke Free Illinois Act is passed through the work of the ALAMC and other health groups.
2007 The organization ends its affiliation with American Lung Association and becomes an independent lung health organization. At that time, the organization changes its name to Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago.
2008 RHAMC and the Illinois COPD Coalition release the Illinois State COPD Plan. As only the second of its kind in the nation, the plan outlines a state strategy to educate the public and better treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
2009 Working with policy leaders in Springfield, Respiratory Health Association secures the inclusion of questions about COPD on the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the state's health survey. The survey gathers critical information about COPD in Illinois, and it provides lawmakers, researchers and public health professionals a more accurate portrayal of the disease, its impacts and how to address it.
2010 In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded Chicago $11.5 million as part of Communities Putting Prevention to Work – Chicago Tobacco Prevention Project. Respiratory Health Association oversees the project in collaboration with the Chicago Department of Public Health. The project aims to reduce the adult and youth smoking rates and exposure to secondhand smoke across the city.
2010 In July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presents Respiratory Health Association with a leadership award for ongoing efforts to clean up diesel exhaust. The association and the Illinois EPA implemented more than 100 successful clean diesel projects throughout the state, and the association enacted idling reduction ordinances as well as secured more than $31.1 million in funding for diesel reduction projects in Chicago through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Improvement program in 2010 and 2011.