INDIANAPOLIS – Ten children with diabetes from Kosciusko County are better equipped to manage their disease and prevent complications, thanks to a gift from the county’s K21 Health Foundation.
The foundation donated $9,300 to the American Diabetes Association to help Kosciusko County youth attend the Association’s camp for children with diabetes – known as Camp John Warvel – earlier this month in North Webster.
This annual, week-long, residential camp serves children with type 1 and type 2 diabetes by teaching critical diabetes management skills through age-appropriate camp activities and ‘round-the-clock medical supervision.
This year, 179 children ages 7 to 15 participated in Camp John Warvel from June 5 to 11 at the Camp Crosley YMCA facility in North Webster.
In addition, six teens with diabetes, ages 16 and 17, participated as camp staff by assisting the nutrition staff.
And two former campers, both now in college, returned as associate medical staff under the direct supervision of physicians and nurse practitioners.
Diabetes puts special demands on children because of the level of independence required to manage the disease, including frequent finger stick tests to check blood glucose levels, injections to replace the insulin that children with diabetes cannot make or process, and daily vigilance to prevent complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, amputations and early death.
“Diabetes in childhood presents unique challenges. Often children with diabetes feel very different from their peers. Camp John Warvel allows children with diabetes to experience all the fun of a week at camp with a safety net of 24/7 medical supervision – something that sets us apart from other camps,” said Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and Co-Medical Director for Camp John Warvel. “Camp also allows us to educate a large number of student providers on aspects of diabetes care. These people will enter the community with a great knowledge base, which they will carry and pass forward.”
Diabetes education is at the foundation of all activities at Camp John Warvel. This year, campers enjoyed a nearly one-to-one staff-to-camper ratio, with 85 medical volunteers from the American
Diabetes Association on hand all week, in addition to approximately 75 staff counselors from the YMCA facility that hosted the camp.
Through teachable moments during daily camp activities, such as hiking, swimming and horseback riding, campers learned how to manage their diabetes with techniques such as carbohydrate counting, blood glucose finger stick tests and insulin shots.
