Latest Data on Asthma In Hampden County!

Kim Maende • May 24, 2022

Source: MDPH Hospital Admissions, State Tables

Although Springfield and the Pioneer Valley region has dropped from #1 to #12 Asthma and Allergy Capital as determined by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, asthma is still a serious issue with concerning inequities for Black and Latino communities. Hampden County residents continue to be impacted by asthma with emergency room visit rates more than two times that of the state in 2019 (1,128 vs 518 per 100,000, respectively and hospitalization rates over 70% greater (145 vs 84 per 100,000 respectively). Within Hampden County, there were large differences in admission rates for asthma between races.


In 2019, the most recent year in the data set, Black residents of Hampden County were admitted to the emergency department for asthma at a rate double that of White residents. Black hospital admission rates for asthma rose since the last CHNA, whereas they declined or held steady for other racial groups. The state did not provide 2019 data on Latinx admission rates, but in the last CHNA, Latinx rates for ER visits were double Black rates (2617 per 100,000 vs. 1310). The disparities were even more extreme for Latinx pediatric ER visits.

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By Sarita Hudson August 24, 2026
The Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts (PHIWM) is expanding its longstanding asthma prevention efforts into a regional Respiratory Health Coalition focused on reducing health inequities in the region with particular attention to Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee. Building on the success of the Pioneer Valley Asthma Coalition and Healthy Air Network, the coalition will expand to address COPD, and lung cancer as well as asthma through coordinated action on prevention, education, environmental health, access to care, and policy advocacy. By bringing together healthcare providers, community organizations, residents, employers, public health leaders, and policymakers, the coalition will advance sustainable solutions that improve respiratory health outcomes while reducing the social and economic burden of chronic lung disease. This new Respiratory Health coalition will be meeting through the fall to finalize planning on communications, education, and policy advocacy. We have recruited 10 Resident Advisors to bring community resident voices to our process. In addition, we have representatives from Baystate Health, the cities of Chicopee, Holyoke & Springfield, Caring Health Center, Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Holyoke Health Center, Nuestras Raices, ReGreen Springfield, and Revitalize CDC. To learn more about Respiratory Health efforts, please sign up for our new Respiratory Health newsletter or contact Sarita Hudson, shudson@publichealthwm.org