Diabetes Care Network Helps Kids Manage Their Disease
Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic
In conjunction with SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, Southeast Missouri Hospital offers a clinic for children with diabetes who live in this region.
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A child with diabetes may take nearly 1,500 insulin shots a year or about four shots each and every day. Amid this reality, a special summer camp – offered in conjunction with the American Diabetes Association and conducted by Southeast Missouri Hospital's Youth Diabetes Care Network – helps children with diabetes better manage their disease. The camp is called Camp DAY (Diabetes And Youth) Break.
"You get to meet people who are in the same boat as you are and we have a lot of fun together," says Clint Heuer, a teenager who was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 5 years old and helped out at last year's camp. |
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Southeast Missouri Hospital's Youth Diabetes Care Network, a program sponsored by Kohl's Cares for Kids®, provides the latest resources and selfmanagement techniques for children who have diabetes.
Since 2005, the Cape Girardeau Kohl's store has donated $43,671 to this unique program, which includes Camp DAY Break.
"With this distinctive partnership, we help children with diabetes reach their full potential and spread the word about prevention and early diagnosis," says Southeast Missouri Hospital Certified Diabetes Educator Janet Stewart, MSA, BSN, RNC.
Mary Burton-Hitt, executive director of the Southeast Missouri Hospital Foundation, says, "The support that we have been given by Kohl's Cares for Kids® will make a huge difference to our young people living with diabetes."
Over 3,000 children and their families are currently being served through the Youth Diabetes Care Network in a 20-county area of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky and northeast Arkansas.
The donations from Kohl's Cares for Kids® help offset the costs of programming expenses and supplies.
Stewart stresses the importance of self-management to prevent long-term complications and diabetes emergencies. "Stay at a healthy weight, be physically active, choose the right amount of healthy foods and have preventative health checks," she adds.
Notes Stewart, "The challenges a child and family face following the diagnosis of diabetes include demands on time, money and energy. We're here to give them resources that reach beyond the medical appointments."