COMMUNITY IMPACT
School-age children with diabetes can face significant health risks and their ability to learn can be compromised when their blood glucose levels fall outside a reasonable range . To ensure the best health and educational outcomes for these children , the Diabetes School Navigator Program – sponsored by the Diabetes Institute and our Community Health Programs – helps Athens County students with diabetes manage their disease at school .
NAVIGATING DIABETES CARE IN SCHOOLS
During the past year , Anna Pfeiffer ( far right ), an AmeriCorps member with our program COMCorps , regularly visited six Athens County schools to work individually with 15 kids aged 4 to 16 . Pfeiffer helped these students stick to their management routines and served as liaison among the students , school nurses , physicians and parents . She even participated in doctor visits , updating medical management plans and promptly sharing them among all parties to ensure continuity of care .
The consistent , coordinated , one-on-one support provided an exceptional benefit for the students and their families , and Pfeiffer became a source of useful feedback for Heritage College staffers working to find better management strategies . Our Diabetes School Navigator Program , in operation since 2012 , is one of only a handful of such efforts nationwide .