Webinar recap: Diabetes and school

Sending children to school with diabetes can feel extremely daunting. And it takes a village, so we decided to get some of the people involved in making sure children with diabetes can thrive at school together for a discussion.

In our most recent webinar we spoke with Dr. Alan Cortez, M.D., a board-certified pediatric endocrinologist specializing in care of type 1 diabetes, Nurse Stacy Seiler, RN, BSN, PHN, a Credentialed School Nurse living with type 1 diabetes herself, and Saira Khan-Gallo who is currently navigating sending two young children to school with diabetes (4 and 6 year olds). What we walked away with was that everyone has the same goal: making sure these kids have the best (and safest) experience at school.

If you weren’t able to join us live, you can watch the recording of the webinar here:

In case you have something in particular that you are interested in hearing about, here is a breakdown of the topics that were discussed with the approximate timestamp:

• 0:00 - 3.30: Introductions.
• 4:10 - 7:35: What is important for back to school prep for families.
• 7:35 - 11:08: Coordination with the school nurses and expectation management for parents to help them understand what diabetes at school will look like.
• 11:08 - 12:48: Overview of how Orange County (CA) school districts manage diabetes at school.
• 12:48 - 17:40: Parent perspective on planning for school and how having type 1 diabetes has an influence.
• 17:40 - 22:20: Workflow to determine orders for individual patients and finding the balance between flexibility and a framework for the nurses and schools to work within.
• 22:20 - 27:05: Does this framework change every year especially in the context of new diabetes technology like CGMs and now AID systems?
• 27:05 - 28:40: Specifics around school nurses using a follow app and implementing an action to be taken.
• 28:40 - 30:00: Writing medical orders in a way that can be implemented.
• 30:00 - 33:38: Understanding the difference between how things are done at home vs. at school.
• 33:38 - 37:20: Recommendations for parents regarding adjusting settings for school.
• 37:20 - 41:30: Why technology is better for teachers and school nurses despite it being ‘more work’.
• 41:30 - 47:55: Complexity of diabetes management at school with additional considerations for puberty and hormonal fluctuations.
• 47:55 - 52:45 : Finding places for flexibility and options within the framework of doctor’s orders to keep students safe.
• 52:46 - 56:45 : The need for medical orders, legal/civil rights of students with diabetes and the transformation of diabetes care at school in Orange County (CA).
• 56:45 : Final words from speakers