American Diabetes Association Launches Safe at School Campaign

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Campaign Focuses on Medical Safety for More Than 200,000 Children with Diabetes

Alexandria, VA (October 5, 2004) - The American Diabetes Association today announced the launch of its Safe at School campaign to ensure that all students with diabetes are educated in a medically safe environment and have the same access to educational opportunities as their peers.

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in school-aged children, affecting about 200,000 young people in the United States.  Each year, more than 13,000 youth are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  In addition, more and more children and teens are developing type 2 diabetes, which used to be seen primarily in adults over age 40.

“Diabetes must be managed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  A student with diabetes cannot take a break from diabetes when he or she boards the school bus in the morning. The goal of proper diabetes care is to maintain blood glucose levels within target range – while at school, home, the football field, or while on a school trip,” said Cathy Tibbetts, RN, MPH, CDE, Association’s President of Heath Care & Education.  “The Safe at School campaign will arm families, teachers, school personnel and administrators with the resources they need to ensure that schools can safely meet the health care needs of children with diabetes,” continued Tibbetts.

The Safe at School campaign utilizes a multi-pronged approach that is supported by the medical and scientific expertise of the Association and the energy and commitment of its top volunteer leaders and grassroots advocates.  The campaign will utilize education, negotiation, litigation, and legislative strategies and will include efforts to:

• Educate the public and the media about issues facing children with diabetes at school
  

• Improve the situation for students who do not have any school personnel trained to provide diabetes care
  

• Counter opposition to the use of trained non-medical personnel to provide care to students with diabetes in the absence of a school nurse

Diabetes is a serious chronic disease that impairs the body’s ability to use food for energy.  It is the fifth leading cause of death by disease in the United States.  Long-term complications include heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and amputation of the foot or leg. Students with type 1 diabetes require multiple daily insulin administration with a syringe or insulin pump and students with type 2 may require oral medications and/or insulin. Insulin and some oral medications must be continuously balanced with food intake and appropriate level of exercise to avoid dangerous hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).  Younger, less experienced children need help with routine diabetes care tasks; other students can do routine care tasks by themselves.  However, all students with diabetes need help in case of a diabetes emergency.

The school nurse plays a central role in providing diabetes care in the school setting and the Association strongly supports having a nurse in every school.  The unfortunate reality is that most schools don’t have full time nurses. Even in those that do, the nurse will not always be present, for example, at field trips or extracurricular activities. Yet the need for diabetes care -- and the possibility of a potentially life-threatening diabetes emergency -- is constant.  Non-medical school personnel can be easily trained to provide the help needed and many schools are already successfully using trained non-medical school personnel to supplement the diabetes care provided by a school nurse.  However, some states have laws or policies that present legal barriers to the performance of diabetes care tasks by non-medically licensed personnel or that limit diabetes self-care. 

The Safe at School campaign will further the Association’s efforts to pass school diabetes care legislation in such states so that teachers, school administrators, school secretaries, and other personnel who volunteer to do so may be trained to provide diabetes care in the absence of a school nurse and so that students who are able to do so can effectively self-manage their disease.  The multi-pronged campaign will enable the Association to enhance its efforts to ensure that the medical needs of every student with diabetes are met during the school day and at school-related activities.

The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information and advocacy. Our advocacy efforts include helping to combat discrimination against people with diabetes; advocating for the increase of federal diabetes research and programs; and improved access to, and quality of, healthcare for people with diabetes.  The Association’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Founded in 1940, the Association provides service to hundreds of communities across the country. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.