Diabetes in School Health (DiSH)

DiSH A La Carte: Summer Mini Sessions #2 – Glucagon

Our second “DiSH à la carte: Summer Mini-Session” has been posted to our website! This is a brief educational module that can be viewed at any time. Please feel free to share with others in your school that may benefit from learning basic information on Type 1 Diabetes!

DiSH à la carte #2 Presentation (.pdf)

DiSH A La Carte: Summer Mini Sessions #1 – What is Type 1 Diabetes?

Our first “DiSH à la carte: Summer Mini-Session” has been posted to our website! This is a brief educational module that can be viewed at any time. Please feel free to share with others in your school that may benefit from learning basic information on Type 1 Diabetes!

DiSH à la carte #1 Presentation (.pdf)

Gray Areas of Diabetes Management at School and COVID-19 Updates

5/20/2020

Thank you to all the school nurses and health care professionals who came together to discuss the challenging and confusing aspects of diabetes care at school! Check out some highlights from the discussion and expert recommended resources below.

• Almost all students with diabetes will qualify for a 504 evaluation or plan.
  • 504 Plans are based on the student having an impairment of a major bodily function, including diabetes.
  • The Individualized Health Plan/ Nursing Care plan is generally not a replacement for the 504 Plan.
  • The American Diabetes Association’s 504 Section Plan Web-page is a good resource to consult.
• When a parent requests an adjustment to insulin doses…
  • • Parents/caregivers may make adjustments to insulin doses when the student’s provider has written to allow it AND has provided an acceptable dosing range in their orders provided to the school.
• Engagement is key to building trust and overcoming barriers of student care.
  • Engaging with parents/ caregivers and students to share information can help with building trust and overcoming barriers.
  • Consider using tools like BlueLoop (app for sharing blood sugars) to keep communication open.
  • Utilize other disciplines (social work, counseling, etc) to build relationships and support students.

DiSH Session 5 Presentation (.pdf)

COVID-19 Updates

Psychosocial Adjustments and COVID-19 Updates

4/15/2020

Thanks to the over 100 school nurses and health care professionals who came together to discuss psychosocial challenges and brainstorm strategies in the care of students with diabetes. Check out some highlights from the discussion and expert recommended resources below.

• The school nurse is at the center of a student’s healthcare team – the school nurse plays a key role in facilitating communication and collaboration between student, families, medical provider team and the school community.
• We can reduce burden of psychosocial challenges by connecting with, empowering and collaborating with students – The school nurse is an excellent advocate for the student, and understands the individual day-to-day circumstances, and has the potential to be an influential member of the healthcare team.
• It takes a village: Involve other resources to support students coping with diabetes – Consider involving other school resources to support the students’ needs – depending on the situation and school resources available, this can include social work, psychology/counselor, case manager, community organizations and sometimes child protection services.

DiSH Session 4 Presentation (.pdf)

COVID-19 Updates

• People need to remain patient. This is going to take a while! 
  • Vaccines & treatments may take years to develop.  We’re in a marathon, not a sprint. 
• Be realistic – with ourselves, our colleagues and our students/families.
  • Prioritize public health, even though there are associated costs.
• Social distancing – this will be important for quite some time. 
  • Schools are an ideal setting for disease transmission. 
  • Teach & remind children about hand hygiene.
  • Encourage parents to keep sick children home. The sooner we all get better at managing it, the more normal it will be.
• ‘Normalize’ Certain Behaviors – this allows quicker return to a more open society.  Of course this new norm comes with new stressors to manage.

School Nurses and COVID-19 Updates

3/18/2020

More than 90 school nurses and health care professionals came together to discuss COVID-19 and the impact on students with chronic illness. See below for ideas shared during the session and additional resources from our featured speakers. 

• Some school nurses are putting together basic information for families about how to stay well/avoid illness (Suggestion to make sure advice is within RN Scope of practice, cite sources of information)
• It was suggested that school nurses (depending on assigned job duties) may want to identify students/families who could benefit from ongoing support and use creative ways (phone, text, etc.) to touch base and encourage compliance with medication regimens and treatments.
• For schools that will hand out lunches or have times for students to return to pick up supplies, it was recommended that school nurses work with other leadership at the school to encourage social distancing and develop strategies to allow student needs to be met while avoiding crowds or increasing risk for the spread of illness.

DiSH Session 3 Presentation (.pdf)

COVID-19 Updates

Sickness and Diabetes

2/19/2020

Thank you for joining the second session of Diabetes in School Health (DiSH) Project Echo!

Highlights:

• 37 attendees from various locations in Wisconsin logged in to DiSH!
• Discussion centered around illness, ketones, and blood ketone meters!

DiSH Session 2 Presentation (.pdf)

Diabetes Technology

1/15/2020

Thank you for joining the first Session of Diabetes in School Health (DiSH) Project Echo!
Highlights:

* 48 “spokes” from various locations in Wisconsin logged in to discuss current diabetes technology.
* Discussion centered around use of continuous glucose monitors in the school setting (ranging from gym class to testing scenarios).

Do you have comments/questions/suggestions? Please share them at our Post-Session Survey

Click the links below to review our first session:

DiSH Session 1 Presentation (.pdf)