More than 29 million people – or nearly 9% of the United States population – have diagnosed diabetes. Of those, 352,000 are children and adolescents younger than 20 years old. Knowing how to care for these children takes special skills and knowledge. After the passing of House Bill 984, it is now required for any school with a diabetic child enrolled to have at least one unlicensed diabetes care assistant onsite if a full-time school nurse is at the school and three unlicensed diabetes care assistants, if not.
Texas Children’s saw a need for diabetes education within our community and put a plan into action. Seven times a year, Texas Children’s Diabetes Educators host Unlicensed Care Assistant Training. With a team of 12 certified Diabetes Education Specialists rotating to host these sessions, they have as many as 20 people in attendance. These range from coaches to secretaries to administrators, anyone who may one day need to administer care to a child with diabetes. Through their community outreach, this team has been able to train school staff from over 48 different schools in the Texas Children’s service area.
“This program has given the diabetes educators an opportunity to directly connect with our local Unlicensed Diabetes Care Assistants who are often times the first line of safety for many of our patients during school and/or daycare hours,” said Merielle Mercado RN, CPN, CDCES. “By offering this training, we can provide additional support to our patients and their caregivers by imparting a robust understanding of diabetes care and management, which will further aid them in safely and successfully caring for our patients while in school and school activities.”
In the two-hour sessions, diabetes educators cover how to work through diabetic crisis situations, how to manage high or low blood sugars, nutrition and the pathophysiology of diabetes. The trainings are held virtually for convenience. A pre and post-test are administered as well to ensure the information is retained and safety requirements are met.
Trainings for 2024 have concluded, but sessions for 2025 are open and available for registration. The scheduled dates and link to register are below:
March 20, 2025: 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
April 10, 2025: 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
July 10, 2025: 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
August 7, 2025: 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
September 4, 2025: 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
October 2, 2025: 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
November 6, 2025: 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
This program is free for Texas Children’s and is $20 for those outside the organization. Register here today and learn more about diabetes care management for a child in your life.