Diabetes care makes its way to KU medical center
Imagine if you had to think like a pancreas.
For Rachel Gifford, founder of the Diabetes Freedom Foundation, her daily routine revolves around knowing how her pancreas is working.
Gifford said, “Diabetes is a gift. It requires me to continuously think about my health. I have to know how my pancreas is going to react to certain foods, to certain amounts of exercise. Depending on what I know, that is how I adjust my life and treat my disease.”
For diabetics in the Kansas City area, this better life may be just around the corner. The University of Kansas Medical Center has committed to creating a Diabetes Institute on the KU Medical Center campus
After being hospitalized at the age of 12, Gifford found out that she had type 1 diabetes. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov), Type 1 diabetes, previously called insulin dependent diabetes, develops when the body’s immune system begins to destroy the beta cell produced by the pancreas. For people like Gifford, surviving this disease means taking insulin to control the body’s regulation of blood glucose.
Even at 12-years-old, Gifford said she knew she had a choice: she could either die from this disease or learn how to live with it. She decided to live.With her company DM Strategies, Gifford hopes to change the world of diabetic care. Gifford wants to make sure that diabetics after her have a better life then she did
For diabetics in the Kansas City area, the University of Kansas Medical Center (www.kumc.edu) has committed to creating a Diabetes Institute on the KU Medical Center campus.
The Institute will be a freestanding structure that will become home to both diabetes care, and diabetes research. The new institute will bring state of the art care to the people suffering with diabetes in the surrounding area.
According to Lisa Stehno-Bittle, the head of research for the institute, the creation of the institute will attempt to bring all of the diabetes health professional in the area together for bettering the future of diabetes. During a retreat on December 2, many of these professional came together to brainstorm a plan to create a mission statement, and begin their fundraising.
According to Stehno-Bittle, the building of the institute will require somewhere between 20 and 30 million dollars.
Stehno-Bittle is pairing with Endocrinologist and newcomer to the KU Medical Center Dr. David Robbins. The dream of a new diabetes institute started with Robbin’s thought to begin a fellowship for diabetes care.
After the two discussed the idea of a fellowship for diabetic care, they realized that they could do so much more for the Kansas City area.
The Kansas City area is behind in its treatment of diabetes. The pair will be traveling to other Diabetes Institutes to build a model for the research and care that will be provided in Kansas City.
The care at the new Diabetes Institute will provide service to many people in the area, including University of Kansas Students.
Diabetic Students on the University of Kansas campus can go to Watkins Student Health Center for their medical care. However, the Watkins may not be able to provide them with the extensive care that they need. According to Ann Chapman, Watkins coordinator for nutrition services and registered dietician, students with diabetes are dealt with on a one-on-one basis.
Students can come in a see a physician. The Physician will prescribe them the correct medicine, encourage them to eat correctly, and exercise regularly. The students will then be referred to Chapman to work on their dietary needs.
Chapman said that the new Diabetes Institute might become a new source of referrals for Watkins.
Chapman said, “The percentage of students with diabetes at KU is so mall we may not have the most comprehensive program. But, we have to look at the health risk that are effecting a large part of the community.”
No date has been set for the construction of the institute. Stehno-Bittle said that the main focus right now will be getting funding for the project.
Gifford can not help but express her excitement for the prospect of the new Diabetes Institute. She feels that a cure for diabetes is around the corner. But until the cure is found, Gifford will continue to battle her diabetes one day at a time.