In PA? Act TODAY! Safe at School

from the ADA:

Students in Pennsylvania Not Safe at School

As hard as it is to imagine, children with diabetes in Pennsylvania aren’t always able to get insulin and glucagon at school because school staff members are prevented from helping a child in need.

While some students have a full-time nurse in their school, others share their school nurse with multiple schools, and that nurse cannot always be available to provide both everyday and emergency care. Even in schools with a full-time nurse, the nurse often isn’t available during field trips and extracurricular activities. But diabetes can’t wait.

Diabetes must be managed 24 hours a day. At home, a child has parents, babysitters, and others to help, but at school, there may be no one who can care for them. Without this careful management, these vulnerable children face frightening short term complications and an ever increasing risk of blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, amputation - even death.

In the horrific situation where a child with diabetes has a severe low blood glucose level and the school nurse isn’t present, the current solution is to call 911 and hope an ambulance arrives in time, rather than having staff administer life-saving glucagon. That’s not a response we can allow to stand!

Right now, legislation is pending in Pennsylvania that would make a huge difference in children’s lives. It would allow school staff members to be trained to give insulin and glucagon so there is always someone there to help, even when a school nurse cannot be. It would also allow students who are mature enough to do so to independently self-manage their diabetes at school.

Urge your legislators to support this critical Safe at School legislation.

There’s no time to waste! Your legislators are expected to vote on this legislation very soon. That’s why they need to hear from you today.

Ask your legislators to keep children with diabetes safe at school!

Sincerely,

Stephen Habbe
Pennsylvania State Advocacy Director
American Diabetes Association

In PA? Call your Senator in Harrisburg.

We need to get legislation out of the education committee and passed to Kids with Diabetes Safe at School. I sent this email to my senator's staff, Eric Pauly. They vote June 19 9:00am. 

Please do too, or call 717 787 6599

EPauly@pasen.gov

Dear Eric, 

Kids should be safe at school. Even kids with diabetes. 

I support safe at school. I have two kids with type 1 diabetes. I intimately know this issue. 

I support SB 871. 

Will Senator Greenleaf? 

As a parent of children with type 1 diabetes, I want to thank the senator for his support of safe at school legislation in previous sessions.  I hear rumors of a flip flop to the nurses union position. I hope not. 

I hope he will continue to support safe at school and vote for 871. It is a bill that allows local school officials and parents to cooperate to provide safe school environments for children with diabetes. 

I know there are many issues in the Commonwealth. I appreciate that your office has show nuanced appreciation for this approach to facilitating parents and schools to work together to keep children safe, in class without a de facto mandate from the capital to micromanage and inflatelocal school board budgets. I appreciate that he has shown leadership on this issue as a sponsor in the past.

It is time to get this bill passed. 

Senator Greenleaf's continued support is an important step in the process. Diabetes requires ongoing vigilance. Diabetes management does not wait for legislative sessions. Unfortunately not all school budgets can expand to provide full time nursing. Local officials and parents should have the flexibility to agree to train a responsible adult to provide the needed diabetes support to help kids stay safe in schools.

Safe includes medically safe. Most of the daily tasks for children with diabetes care now are provided or supervised by parents and other adults who have be trained by diabetes educators. This standard of care can work in schools where there is not full time nursing coverage. SB 871 anticipates that and is supported by the Pennsylvania Medical Society, demonstrating the processes this bill proposes are medically sound.  

There are best practices recommended for diabetes and schools created by the leading health and education professionals. They are in a document called Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel. It was written by the NDEP, a partnership of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 200 public and private organizations including school administrators, physicians and nurses. 

Not exactly bums. 871 makes the best practices of helping students possible in PA. They are not now. 

The bill is exactly the kind of considered approach needed to support kids with diabetes in schools.

Thank you for your efforts to keep children safe in school.

Let's focus on succeeding.

To help kids succeed in safe schools, I support PA 871. The nurses union is opposed, if the Senator vote with them I expect him to fund the increase in budgets across the state their position will require with the tax revenue non of us want increased. 

Bennet Dunlap

Live in PA - Little Help?

Pennsylvanians, it is that time again.

Time to let our elected officials know that among the things we expect them to do is to keep kids with diabetes safe at school.

Find your representatives and feel free to copy and adapt what I sent my Rep, the Honorable Mr. Thomas Murt:

The Honorable Thomas Murt
19 South York Rd.
Hatboro, PA 19040

Dear Representative Murt,

As a parent of two children with type 1 diabetes, I want to thank you for your sponsorship of safe at school legislation in previous sessions.  I know you have supported this since at least 2008 and I have proudly shared my appreciation on my blog. I hope you will continue that support of kids by co-sponsoring the house version of Senator Browne’s upcoming bill that allows local school officials and parents to cooperate to provide safe school environments for children with diabetes. 

I know there are many issues in the Commonwealth. I appreciate that you have show nuanced appreciation for this approach to facilitating parents and schools to work together to keep children safe, in class without a de facto mandate from the capital to micromanage and inflate local school board budgets. I appreciate that you have shown leadership on this issue as a sponsor in the past.

It is time to get this bill out of committee and passed. 

Your renewed sponsorship is an important step in the process. Type 1 diabetes requires ongoing vigilance. Diabetes management does not wait for legislative sessions. Unfortunately not all school budgets can expand to provide full time nursing. Local officials and parents should have the flexibility to agree to train a responsible adult to provide the needed diabetes support to help kids stay safe in schools.

Safe includes medically safe. Most of the daily tasks for children with diabetes care now are provided or supervised by parents and other adults who have be trained by diabetes educators. This standard of care can work in schools where there is not full time nursing coverage. Senator Browne’s bill anticipates that and is supported by the Pennsylvania Medical Society. This clearly demonstrated the processes this bill proposes are medically sound.  

It bill is exactly this kind of considered approach to unique issues that can combine to provide the needed diabetes support in schools.

Thank you for your efforts to keep children safe in school.

Bennet Dunlap

Pennsylvanians, Please Act for Kids with Diabetes in School

 Hello my fellow Pennsylvanians. I know that sounds like the opening to a  political stump speech.

I hope this is more of a response to one.

Now is the time write our elected officials. Once again legislation is pending that would allow schools, parents and adult volunteers in schools to help kids with diabetes. Specifically in the administration of diabetes medications, insulin and glucagon. Yes in PA we need this law because as it stands now it is not legal for a school nurse to delegate giving glucagon.

ADA has a super easy fill in the form and customize letter generating process that we can use to share with our legislators.
Click here: https://donations.diabetes.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2378

Put in some details about your family and why safe at school matters.

Maybe if we act now our ligislators will too. 

Succeed in Safe Schools - PA HB 1338

Kids should be safe at school.

Including kids with diabetes. Some kids may need support to be safe.  Legitimate budget, scheduling and other reasons may keep a school from having nursing coverage. Safe at school means the kids can go to school and be safe if the nurse has a family issue, traffic problem, heaven forbid needs to escort another kid to the hospital in an emergency or if the school doesn't have a nurse.

There are best practices recommended for diabetes and schools created by the leading health and education professionals. They are in a document called Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel. It was written by the NDEP, a partnership of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 200 public and private organizations.

Not exactly bums.

"Helping" anticipate that, while not ideal, some schools without a nurse may still need to help a child with diabetes succeed. Succeed what a great word.

Let's focus on succeeding.

Legislation is pending in Pennsylvania to try to help kids succeed in safe schools. There is a op/ed piece in @PhillyInquire on the topic and it is well worth reading. One commenter at the paper asks if proponents would send their diabetic child to a school without a nurse.

I have and would.

While we currently have the World Greatest School Nurse, we have never insisted upon a school nurse. I recognize that safe at school can be accomplished with non medical professionals who are open, communicative and trained. That said even a great nurse will be constrained by narrow minded and uncommunicative people in power who refuse to consider best practices for their own ends.

To help kids succeed in safe schools, I support PA HB 1338. I encourage you to learn about best practaces and support it, or similar legislation in your state, too.

Looking for PA People Again

I Want You To Lobby Your Elected Officials


This is an update of a Post from August.

Safe at School legislation has been re-introduced into the quagmire we lovingly call Harrisburg. We need this and there is nothing like letting your elected officials know you (an actual registered voter) are paying attention. I don't see a PA Senate version yet.

It as easy as 123.

1) Identify your elected dude or dudette
2) Send them a letter
3) Send it again in a few months.


1) Go here and enter your zip code. It will give you your state representative.
2) Here is a little draft letter only minor modifications are required (edit out the wise cracks in the brackets) or grow your own.
3) If you hear back send a thank you note. If you don’t send the letter again a little closer to the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November. In fact send another one in mid October any way.


Dear (Insert the name your dude or dudette here, see 1 above.)

Please ad your sponsorship to House Bill 1113 P.N. 1309 Safe at School legislation for Children with diabetes. This legislation is desperately needed to help students with diabetes succeed.

We are the parents of (Your actual number of T1 Kids! I used two, if you have less than two actual type 1 kids please change the plural children to singular child as appropriate in the following sentences. Oh and congratulations on only having one.) children with type 1 diabetes. Type 1 is often reported in the media as the ‘more serious’ form of diabetes due to the higher levels of testing and insulin use it requires.

Type 1 is an autoimmune disease and is in no way the result of diet or exercise. All type 1 children and adults require insulin throughout the day and will continue to need it until a cure is found. Both our children use insulin pumps, manufactured in the Commonwealth, to deliver that insulin instead of 4 to 6 insulin shots a day. (LOOK It is good for the state economy! - Sucks big time for us but hey every silver lining has a cloud....)

(Ad A PERSONAL PARAGRAPH! follow with 'more work is still needed' like sample below)

While significant progress has been made many school still refuses the safe at school best practices that this bill would insure. For example many children have only been permitted to participate in school trips if a parent accompanies them and despite doctor’s specific recommendations are not permitted to carry and use their glucose monitoring equipment at all times.

This legislation is desperately needed. It is a safe and appropriate response to a chronic medical condition. I look forward to hearing you have added you sponsorship to the bill and your efforts to getting it passed. I hope to be able to share with the tens of thousands of other Delaware Valley (Or your local walk) type 1 families who support the October (Just before elections.... not that we are watching or anything... but maybe we'll follow up then) Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk for the Cure that you are working to improve the lives of type 1 kids by keeping them Safe at School. (OH YEAH DID I MENTION - THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF REGISTERED VOTERS INVOLVED? right before Election Day? Oh I did mention that? Sorry.... Not!)

Respectfully

I am Voting for Thomas P. Murt

He is our local representative in Harrisburg.

I wrote him about HB 2002 Short Title: An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, further providing for school health services. (I would hate to see a long title ya know what I mean?)

This is the PA Safe at School bill for students with diabetes I wrote about a few days ago. He called our house when I was at work yesterday and spoke with one of the older kids. He said he would add his sponsorship. I got this card in the mail from him today.


Wow that was fast. I even see he is now listed on line as a a co-sponsor of the bill!

Democracy in Action! Wohoo!

So my friends I suggest you join me in voting for the honorable Mr. Murt if you are in our district and if you are not, write your honorable dude or dudette.