This should be good practice all over....BD
Schools in California will be required to have someone available who is trained to assist diabetic children under a legal settlement announced Wednesday in Oakland.
The agreement sets a policy requiring children who have diabetes to be provided services under federal laws that guarantee equal educational opportunities for children with disabilities.
"The importance of this settlement is it's applying those laws to children with diabetes," says Arlene Mayerson, an attorney with the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, which represented four families in the lawsuit filed in 2004. "This will be a model for states across the country."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says one in 523 people under 20 have diabetes.
A few states, including Indiana, Oklahoma and Texas, already have legislation that allows schools' non-medical staff members to be trained to administer insulin and help children monitor blood-sugar levels.
Laura Wolfe of Upland, Calif., pulled her daughter Elizabeth out of public schools three years ago when she found her 5-year-old unconscious on the playground in a state of extremely high blood sugar. "She could have gone into a coma," she says. "The district nurse would not allow any non-medical staff to participate in medical care. The protocol was call Mom or call 911."
Calif. schools required to give medical help to kids with diabetes - USATODAY.com
It seems to me that the school nurse should know how to help in these kinds of situations. It makes good sense to call Mom or 911 in an emergency (probably both) but there should definitely also be someone who knows what they're doing.
ReplyDeleteIt's not as easy today being a school nurse by any means and they are needed as we have so many more diabetic children to care for. The need someone to keep an eye out at a local level.
ReplyDelete