Childrens Airway First Foundation

One of the first priorities was to assemble top advisory board members comprised of a diverse set of medical, dental, insurance and public health professionals. The idea was to integrate the various areas of health expertise to cover airway disorders. This was accomplished with luminaries in the field accepting appointments as identified on the CAFF web site. With a broad breadth of experience assembled, CAFF is facilitating a systemic approach to identifying children at all ages who have airway disorders affecting their life-long health. The goal is to screen, evaluate and treat all children with airway disorders. Four hundred million children worldwide are estimated to suffer some degree of breathing disorder. In 2024 several new advisory board members were appointed to broaden the expertise available to CAFF. Quarterly advisory board meetings were held to disseminate and share the latest research concerning airway issues. Work is currently ongoing to develop an infant airway screening protocol where every newborn will be screened at birth. Work also is being conducted to create an airway center of excellence which would develop standards of care in diagnosing and treating children with breathing disorders as well as being resident to medical specialists dealing with the most complex breathing issues.

During 2024, CAFF continued to raise awareness of the prevalence of upper airway breathing disorders by attending and participating in conferences and meetings with other entities promoting education and learning. CAFF has put particular emphasis on identifying problematic children under 30 months when it is easiest to correct any issues before they become systemic morbidities. Brochures and posters targeting parents were available for distribution to dental and pediatric offices, and a free CAFF newsletter was provided to over 3,000 registrants subscribed to the publication. In addition,our social media following is over 3,000 users on four platforms. During 2024, CAFF co-hosted online webinars with parents and clinicians with hundreds of attendees. A short documentary film was produced featuring the consequences of misdiagnosing airway disordered breathing.

During 2024, CAFF added additional web casts featuring luminaries in the field (including members of the advisory board) talking about various upper airway respiratory issues affecting over 400 million children globally. At yearend, the site had over 75 web casts. This endeavor provides information to parents who think their child may have airway issues, often being initially identified by snoring, sleeping with an open mouth, disrupted sleep, etc. This accomplishment is a subset of the CAFF web site development effort and expenses associated with this public service are included in item number one.