You can also bring (if available):

• all outside records
• growth curves/charts
• X-rays
• laboratory results
• glucose meter
• insulin pump
• any forms required for school, camp, sports, etc.

Diabetes Logs & Worksheets

• Food Log Record (PDF)
• Pump Glucose Log Sheet (PDF)

Medication Refills

Please request medication refills at the time you make your appointment – requests may take 48 hours to complete. Also, prescriptions will not be refilled if you have not been seen in our clinic in the past six months.

When calling for a refill, include:

• your child’s name
• medication name
• phone number

Your Child’s “Every Day” Diabetes Checklist

Because an emergency can happen anywhere, being prepared is important. Depending on your child’s insulin regimen – injections or insulin pump therapy – the following items should be part of your child’s “Every Day Pack” and carried by you and your child at all times:

• medic-alert bracelet (worn by your child always)
• glucagon emergency kit
• blood sugar meter and test strips
• insulin pen needles or syringes
• vials of insulin or insulin pens
• extra batteries and pump supplies
• alcohol wipes
• ketone strips (urine or blood)
• emergency glucose sources: glucose tablets or gel, small juice box or bottled water, small box of raisins, or Lifesavers
• portable snack – cheese crackers or granola bar
• current list of all insulin doses (carbohydrate ratios, correction doses, long-acting insulin doses)
• extra batteries for your meter
• emergency phone numbers
• CalorieKing or other informational book
• calculator

Support Service for Families

• Ronald McDonald House of Jacksonville: a safe, free, family-centered home away from home when your child is sick and needs to be hospitalized

A diagnosis of juvenile diabetes brings with it some changes to your child’s and your family’s routine. Our pediatric diabetes program uses a family-centered team approach to helping your child build the confidence needed to manage the disease.

Once your child is diagnosed with diabetes, our team of diabetes experts will work with your family and your child to develop a treatment plan geared especially for your child. At first, you and your child will participate in frequent education and support classes to help you both gain the confidence you need to manage diabetes.

At each visit, our diabetes specialists will:

• review how to check blood sugar levels throughout the day
• analyze glucose trends
• adjust insulin doses
• review diet intake and the importance of healthy snacking and meals

Our comprehensive ongoing care includes:

• Diabetes education: individualized training for children, teens, and families regarding all aspects of diabetes care including pathogenesis, insulin action, insulin administration techniques, home glucose monitoring, treatment of hypo-and hyperglycemia, exercise, diet, and complications
• Insulin management: one-on-one sessions about insulin dosing with mathematical examples of calculations
• Hypoglycemia management: identifying symptoms, oral management with carbohydrate replacement, use of glucagon injections
• Dietary and nutrition counseling: learn about healthy cardiovascular diabetic diet as sponsored by the ADA, meal portions, carbohydrate counting, and glycemic index
• 24-hour, on-call coverage for diabetes-related emergencies
• Full-time counselor for prompt individual and family counseling
• Specialized program for children with poorly controlled diabetes management

In addition to our care, we’ll give you diabetes resources from the ADA and other respected sources, to help you and others who care for your child when you’re not around know how to manage your child’s diabetes.

Our experience staff includes:

• board-certified pediatric endocrinologists
• nurses and nurse practitioners
• certified diabetes educators
• dietitians
• licensed clinical social workers
• endocrinology fellows (board certified pediatricians training to become endocrinologists)

Our pediatric diabetes education program is a certified Center of Excellence by the American Diabetes Association. This distinction comes in recognition of our efforts to provide a high standard of diabetes care and education in collaboration with Wolfson Children’s Hospital, one of the many health providers we partner with to offer top-quality, comprehensive care.

Also, our pediatric diabetes education program was awarded the prestigious Certificate of Recognition (2009-2013) by the ADA for our Diabetes Self-Management Education program. This recognition means our diabetes center meets national standards for diabetes education, ensuring children with diabetes and their families receive quality and comprehensive diabetes self-management education.

Our resources offer children and families unmatched quality of care through system-wide research efforts and clinical studies. Some of the latest treatment therapies we offer include:

Insulin Pump Therapy

A microcomputer designed to provide a constant supply of insulin, as well as boluses of insulin with meals and when blood sugars are high, mimicking the job of the pancreas. It’s convenient, flexible, and accurate, and requires an extensive training process to learn how to use it properly and to prevent complications.

To be considered for pump therapy, you and your child must attend several educational sessions before and after pump therapy begins. Also, your child is required to stay at Wolfson Children’s Hospital for observation one day while insulin is placed in the pump for the first time and your child’s blood glucose is monitored.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Similar in size to a pager that can be attached to a belt or waistband, this device requires a small “sensor” to be inserted into the skin around the abdomen area. The sensor is connected to a small transmitter that automatically records glucose readings every 1 to 5 minutes and up to 7 days, depending on the manufacturer. These types of devices provide “real-time” glucose readings alarms when blood sugar is approaching too high or too low levels.

Individualized Diabetes Education and Support (IDEAS) Clinic

A support group for teens with diabetes to help them improve diabetes management and offer support. The class meets at Nemours Children’s Clinic, Jacksonville on the 6th floor, the last Wednesday of each month, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The group discusses different topics, such as the emotional side of living with diabetes, healthy coping, carbohydrate counting, stress management, and more.

To request a referral from your child’s pediatric endocrinologists, call
(904) 697-3031 or kkerins@nemours.org.

Insulin Pump Class

An informative monthly class for children with diabetes considering insulin pump therapy.

• Boggy Creek Family Diabetes Weekends
• Camp JADA: Held at Jacksonville University, this 4-day camp is sponsored by the American Diabetes Association and is for children with diabetes between the ages of 6 and 18, staffed mostly by members of the endocrinology division
• Diabetes Education & Camping Association
• Florida Diabetes Camp
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation: Walk for the Cure
• American Diabetes Association: Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes

Because of our dedicated physicians’ and scientists’ extensive research efforts, children diagnosed with multiple endocrine disorders from throughout the United States and abroad are referred to Nemours Children’s Clinic, Jacksonville to get expert care and advice of our pediatric endocrinologists.

Our Nemours pediatric endocrinologists actively participate in a Pediatric Fellowship Training Program in collaboration with the University of Florida’s College of Medicine to train the next generation of pediatric endocrinologists.