11-year-old Elkhart student collapses after recess

A middleschooler in Elkhart is recovering after having a bad asthma attack on the playground Tuesday.

Teachers and staff at Concord Intermediate School jumped into action to help after he collapsed outside. 

District Superintendent John Trout says the 11-year-old was heading back inside from recess when it happened.

Asthma emergencies involving children in parts of Michiana are some of the highest in the state.

The director of the Indiana Joint Asthma Coalition, a non-profit that works with the state to study asthma, says the number of childhood cases in this area keeps a lot of them in and out of the hospital.

"For the South Bend area, about 41 to 45 emergency room visits per 10,000. Which is about the third highest in the state," said Roni Ford, Director for Indiana Joint Asthma Coalition. 

Ford says those who make these emergency room visits typically don’t have well controlled asthma and should follow a management plan with doctor visits and maintenance.

Health officials say about 8 percent of children living in Indiana have asthma.

The student who suffered an attack is resting and should be back at school soon.