About Us

Our Program

The Utah Asthma Program (UAP) is located at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of Health Promotion and Prevention. The program began in December 2001 with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by being awarded the Comprehensive Asthma Control through Evidence-based Strategies and Public Health - Health Care Collaboration grant. The cooperative agreement funds UAP for 5 years to provide comprehensive asthma care by ensuring availability of and access to guidelines-based medical management and pharmacotherapy to all Utah residents with asthma, and to link those with poorly controlled asthma to individualized services.

The UAP's state plan focuses on three types of strategies to achieve this goal:

  1. Infrastructure strategies to support leadership, strategic partnerships, strategic communications, surveillance, and evaluation.
  2. Services strategies to expand school- and home-based services.
  3. Health systems strategies to improve coverage, delivery, quality, and use of clinical services.

Program Vision

To improve the lives of those with asthma.

Program Mission

To make sustainable connections to improve the lives of those with asthma by:

  • Enhancing and developing partnerships.
  • Conducting surveillance and evaluation of asthma.
  • Promoting the use of best practices.
  • Sharing resources.
  • Facilitating open communication.

Program Staff

  • Nichole Shepard, MPH - Program Manager
  • Jesse Joseph, CHES - Program Coordinator
  • Holly Uphold, PhD - Epidemiologist
  • Kellie Baxter - Health Program Specialist