Politics and healthcare policy

Politics/Healthcare

Attn: Senator

Re: Bill 672, Public and Nonpublic schools -- Student Diabetes Management Program

Dear,

My name is ____ ____ and I am writing to ask that you vote in support of Bill 672, which would authorize the Student Diabetes Management Program in Maryland public and nonpublic schools. As a nurse, I have a lot of experience with diabetes patients, and pediatric patients. I have seen in my career a dramatic increase in recent years of pediatric diabetes patients, and this trend has reached alarming levels.

As you may be aware, childhood diabetes comes with a whole host of negative health outcomes. Type 1 diabetes, or juvenile insulin-dependent diabetes, in a genetic condition requiring constant care, which poses significant challenges to our educational system. Our educators are trained to educate, but must also play the role of safeguarding the health of our children, a role that is challenged by illnesses that demand constant attention. Type 2 diabetes in children is also rising and presents its own challenges. There is an opportunity to reduce the incidence of Type 2 diabetes in American children, through the educational programs that will be funded in part by the proposed Student Diabetes Management Program.

The SDMP will provide funding for a nurse to be present at each school, in order that our children receive the medical attention that they need. This is an important aspect of the education system, to ensure that our children are well-looked after, and that their health is protected. More education and training of students on things like eating habits can also reduce their likelihood of contracting diabetes during childhood, especially in underprivileged communities (Berhan et al., 2015). It should also be noted that this form of diabetes care that can be provided by an in-school nurse helps reduce negative outcomes. In many cases, these children would otherwise find themselves in an adult health system, something that can result in adverse outcomes for the child (Lyons, Becker & Helgeson, 2014). Furthermore, the funding provided under the SDMP would provide the needed education to existing school nurses about diabetes issues -- a study in 2008 showed that Maryland school nurses lack sufficient training with respect to the treatment of Type 1 diabetes among their students (Joshi, Komlodi & Arora, 2008).

I support this bill because of what I have seen as a health provider. I have seen that when there are incidents involving children and diabetes in school, the life of the child is threatened. Their outcomes are diminished the longer it takes the child to get proper medical care. It has been found that the greater the access students have to school nurses, the better their outcomes are (Guttu et al., 2004). Where it has been tried, having nurses on staff not only helps reduce the number of such incidents, but it allows the child to get the care he or she needs in the timely manner, thereby reducing negative outcomes associated with the hypoglycemia. Thus, in my medical experience, I believe that providing nurses in schools will improve health outcomes for our children, not just pertaining to diabetes but to other conditions as well.