June 14, 2003 New Orleans, LA (June 15, 2003) - The Department of Health and Human Services' National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) today jointly announced the launch of a new comprehensive guide for management of diabetes at school. Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel reflects a consensus from a broad spectrum of federal agencies and leading organizations in the diabetes and education communities on how schools can better meet the medical needs of students with diabetes.
"Knowledge and understanding of diabetes in children will benefit everyone: parents, school personnel, and most of all our children," said HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson, whose department leads the national effort to educate the public and health care professionals about prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes, its risk factors and control. "Working with the American Diabetes Association and the sincere and dedicated volunteers and staff have made it possible to develop this comprehensive guide and disseminate it throughout the country," he said.
The NDEP Guide was developed in response to problems reported to the Association and others by both parents of students with diabetes and school personnel. Typical problems involved students who had no one to help them with daily diabetes care tasks (such as checking blood glucose levels or administering insulin) or to help them in the case of a diabetes emergency. Other students were not permitted to self-manage their diabetes. Still others were excluded from extracurricular events and field trips - or even told that they are not welcome at a particular school because they have diabetes.
"It is the lack of education about diabetes management that is a common denominator among many school personnel. We hope this Guide helps them learn what they need to do to make sure that students with this disease are both medically safe and have access to all educational opportunities," said Rodney Lorenz, MD, Chair, NDEP Diabetes in Schools Committee.
Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed. A Guide for School Personnel sets out a team approach to diabetes management in schools. A comprehensive primer provides information about diabetes and reviews the components for planning and implementing diabetes management in school. Also included is a section outlining the roles and responsibilities of all key school personnel, including school nurses, administrators, teachers, coaches and physical education instructors, bus drivers, lunchroom staff, guidance counselors, as well as parents and the student with diabetes. The Guide contains sample medical and emergency tools for use in the school setting and provides information about the key federal laws that address schools' responsibilities to students with diabetes.
"Everyone has a role to play in helping the student with diabetes succeed," said Francine R. Kaufman, President, American Diabetes Association and chair of the writing subgroup convened to develop the Guide.
Diabetes refers to a series of diseases in which the body does not produce or respond properly to insulin, a hormone used by the body to convert sugars, starches, and other food into energy. Seventeen million Americans have diabetes. It is the country's fifth leading cause of death by disease. Complications include heart disease and stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and amputations.
The ADA has developed additional materials to help students with diabetes. The ADA and the Metropolitan Educational Service Cooperative Unit have partnered to create Diabetes Care Tasks at School: What Key Personnel Need to Know - training modules on these key diabetes care tasks. The modules are based upon, and are intended to be used in conjunction with, the NDEP Guide. These training modules are also being launched at the Association's Community Assembly and Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.
Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel is supported by the following agencies and organizations:
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Health Education
American Association of Diabetes Educators
American Diabetes Association
American Dietetic Association
American Medical Association
Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Indian Health Service
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of School Nurses
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of State Boards of Education
National Diabetes Education Program
National Education Association Health Information Network
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases,
National Institutes of Health
U.S. Department of Education
The American Diabetes 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 services to hundreds of communities across the country. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in Spanish.
The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NDEP involves more than 200 public and private sector partners who work at the national, state, and local level. The NDEP Guide is available on the NDEP website at www.ndep.nih.gov or copies may be ordered in July by calling 1-800-438-5383.
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Contact: Joanne Gallivan (NDEP) 301-496-6110
June 13-16: 240-994-4117
Mark Overbay, (ADA) 703-549-1500, ext 2290
NEWS ROOM June 13-17, 2003:
Room #206, Ernest Morial Convention Center;
New Orleans, LA
(504) 670-7133
