Email from ADA: Help make students with diabetes Safe at School

Dear Reisa,

ADA believes students with diabetes need to be medically Safe At
School and have the same access to educational opportunities as other
students. For this to happen three basic things need to be in
place:

* All school staff needs to have a basic understanding of
diabetes and know who to contact in an emergency.
* There needs to be a small number of school staff members trained
to perform diabetes care tasks including insulin and glucagon
administration.
* Students who are able to do so must be allowed to self-manage
their disease wherever they are in connection with a school
activity.

Read about the Safe At School Campaign here:
http://main.diabetes.org/site/R?i=QVCQjpZoUF5se-IaN9qi6g..

Get our comprehensive school discrimination information here:
http://main.diabetes.org/site/R?i=HSLtK7_K3wR0q0hpWZ_yBA..

Unfortunately, opposition to our position is fierce.
As we reported last summer, the American Federation of Teachers
(AFT) passed a resolution opposing the training of or care by any
school employee who isn't a nurse. And this year, the
American Nursing Association (ANA) issued a similar statement about
what a school should do if a child is experiencing severe hypoglycemia
and no school nurse is around: just call 911!

Read AFT's resolution here:
http://main.diabetes.org/site/R?i=EXsw8lkY1cpI01WG2EEUhg..
Read ANA's resolution here:
http://main.diabetes.org/site/R?i=H01aHO5SRrxMGCoZde8-WA..

Remember, most schools don't have full-time nurses, many don't have nurses
at all and almost none have nurses available for extracurricular activities.
Never mind about how long it might take 911 to respond in a crowded urban
area or an isolated rural school. This is the bad news. So what's the good
news?

* Many school nurses and other school staff
are committed to our kids and we applaud their work.
* We continue to score victories with state diabetes school
legislation passing this year in TX, HI, KY, and SC.
* Diabetes health care professionals and people affected
by diabetes are united in their support of ADA's Safe
at School Campaign.
*ADA's Safe at School Campaign Statement of Principles has been
endorsed by:

- American Association of Diabetes Educators
- American Dietetic Association
- Children with Diabetes
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
- Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society
- Pediatric Nurses Endocrine Society

We have a long way to go. Our opponents are flooding resources into
defeating our efforts to make schools safe for students with diabetes. We
need your help to get the word out about the Safe at School Campaign to the
millions of
Americans affected by diabetes. We have to win; our kids' health is at
risk. Here's how you can help:

* Attach your name to the Safe at School Statement of
Principles petition here:
http://main.diabetes.org/site/R?i=l1mMvHMXNwiOdM-HkIoq0w..

Or download the Statement of Principles, complete it, then return it to us
by fax at 703-549-8748:

http://main.diabetes.org/site/R?i=C7sWYvep1R95wlOwH1MYvQ..

* Get 10 others to sign on to the Statement of Principles by
forwarding this alert to as many people as you can or by handing
out copies;
* If you have a child with diabetes, download the Statement
of Principles and ask your health care provider to post it in
his or her waiting room so that other parents may sign it, too;
* Continue to share your success stories with us here:

http://main.diabetes.org/site/R?i=T2lCU6-CHsSJrOVDTiV3-Q..

* Finally, alert us if something changes in your child's existing care
agreement at 1-800-DIABETES.

We have to ensure that students with diabetes are safe at school. Please
act now and help us spread the word!





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