Gracie's Story

“Although Gracie’s mother, Patty, believed her primary care doctor had a good handle on Gracie’s asthma, the doctor referred her to Dr. Keating after a couple of years because of the challenges they continued to face.”

Girl returns to active life, even with asthma

Between September 2010 and January 2011, 6-year-old Gracie Salkowski of Sartell missed more than 10 days of school due to asthma-related illnesses. This year, she has not missed any, thanks to her work with pediatric allergist Mary Keating, MD, to get her asthma under control.

Although Gracie’s mother, Patty, believed her primary care doctor had a good handle on Gracie’s asthma, the doctor referred her to Dr. Keating after a couple of years because of the challenges they continued to face.

“In the past, I thought Gracie’s asthma was under control if she didn’t have a cough for three weeks,” Patty said. “Now, I know that it’s not normal for her to be sick.”

CentraCare Clinic has focused on asthma care by working closely with patients suffering from asthma to ensure:

• they have a current asthma action plan
• their asthma is well controlled as measured by the asthma control test
• they are not at increased risk of flare-ups.