Selig talks diabetes advocacy – Stuttgart Daily Leader

According to Selig, 30 million Americans have diabetes right now and about every 23 seconds someone else is diagnosed with the disease.

Rick Selig, director of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), spoke to Stuttgart Lions Club members and guests Wednesday about diabetes and the ways the ADA works to educate the public about it.

According to Selig, 30 million Americans have diabetes right now and about every 23 seconds someone else is diagnosed with the disease.

Thats epidemic proportions, people, and we realize that it affects a lot more than that, that theres people out there that dont even realize that they have it or have what we call pre-diabetes, Selig explained.

The goal of the ADA regarding diabetes is ultimately to find a cure, Selig said, but until then the organization focuses on education, advocacy, research and services to help those living with diabetes.

Selig said the ADA will educate through lunch and learns with different companies and attend health fairs. People can also get information about diabetes through their website at http://www.diabetes.org or by calling (800) 342-2383. According to Selig, the ADA is one of the leading organizations that funds diabetes research, however, several other organizations get involved in funding.

One of the ADAs major services is the diabetes camp for children 8 to 13 years old with diabetes, which is held in Little Rock. He said they have approximately 55 children from around the state who attend the camp each year.

Donations from people like the Lions Club and other organizations is what puts this on, Selig said. It costs us $650 per child to send a kid to camp for one week.

The camp allows children to participate in many fun activities, such as zip lining and canoeing, however, the children are also able to learn about diabetes, including learning how to use pumps and give themselves insulin shots, as well as counting carbs and exercise. Selig said this is sometimes the only time some of the children with diabetes get away from home.

For one week, they get to be just like everybody else, Selig explained. Some of these kids are in rural schools and smaller schools where they may be the only one with diabetes.

When advocating for people with diabetes, Selig said its hard to make everyone happy, but the ADAs goal is to help those with the disease no matter what.

He said recently the Arkansas Legislature passed a law called the Safe At School Law that the ADA advocated for, which allows someone trained in the school, other than the school nurse, to administer insulin to a child in need in an emergency situation. He said this is important, because some school districts have only one school nurse who covers several buildings and may not always be available.

Selig explained that the ADA recently petitioned Congress to look into price gouging for the pharmaceutical companies and medical supply companies in regards to diabetes medications and supplies. He said the investigation is not taking place yet, but they have been assured the issue will be looked into in the future. He explained people across the U.S. often have to make the decision between eating, paying bills and buying insulin or supplies.

Thats a decision nobody should have to make, Selig said.

Another way the ADA is advocating for people with diabetes is showing opposition against the reform of the Affordable Care Act, because if its reformed right now, insurance companies could charge people with pre-existing conditions more for their insurance, according to Selig.

Were standing up for the people with diabetes whether its local or on the national scale, Selig explained.

Selig added, Were actually trying to work ourselves out of a job, because we want to see an end to diabetes.

Lions club member Dave Strauss explained that the club promotes sight and that diabetes is regularly linked to eyesight, stating that eyesight is often one of the things that gets compromised if the disease gets too bad. The club presented Selig with a $1,000 donation to the ADA after his presentation. The Stuttgart Lions Club meets at noon each Wednesday at the Stuttgart Country Club.

Read more from the original source:
Selig talks diabetes advocacy - Stuttgart Daily Leader