The Westchester County chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Children”™s Hospital at Montefiore recently announced their two-year partnership on community outreach and educational programs to help pediatric patients with Type 1 diabetes.
Clinicians from Montefiore”™s Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes will share critical education and resources with patients, parents and health care providers throughout Westchester County, said Dr. Judy Aschner, physician-in-chief at the Children”™s Hospital at Montefiore. Medical staff will make presentations at monthly parent meetings facilitated by the JDRF on topics relating to the care of diabetic children such as nutrition, medication and devices and psycho-social issues.
The new partners also have launched a school nurse education program in which nurse practitioners from the Montefiore children”™s hospital will lead educational programs and give practical, hands-on guidance to school nurses throughout the 33 school districts in the county. The full-day programs provide in-depth training on how to check blood sugar levels, operate pump devices and manage care for children with diabetes in the school environment.
Type 1 diabetes “impacts thousands of people throughout Westchester,” Margie Ostrower, executive director of the Westchester County Chapter of JDRF, said in a press release. “Working with CHAM clinicians will allow us to target the disease on a local level, reinforcing our commitment to improving the lives of people with T1D and emphasizing our position as a leading global organization focused on T1D research.”
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation currently provides $530 million in support for Type 1 diabetes research projects worldwide.
