The Diabetes Technology Clinic - A Better Way Forward

Diabetes is one of the most common long-term childhood diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in three American children born today will develop diabetes during their lifetime.

At the National Philoptochos Children’s Medical Fund Luncheon in October of 2013, $136,900 was awarded in grants for innovative research programs to pediatric hospitals and to organizations with special programs that care for children with critical and life threatening illnesses.

One of the grant recipients was University Hospital’s Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, OH, receiving $21,000 for their Diabetes Technology Clinic. Our guest blogger this week is Sarah A. MacLeish, DO, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Pediatric Endocrinology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Sarah gives us an overview of new technology being used today as well as how the Clinic is using this technology to help families monitor their children’s diabetes care.

The Rainbow Pediatric Diabetes Technology Clinic was started in November 2012 to help our patients understand and utilize the many areas of diabetes technology available.

Insulin pumps have been around for over 30 years, but newer pumps with more features are quickly becoming available.  Pumps have calculators that help families give the correct insulin dose.  Insulin doses are different for different times of the day and different meals, making insulin dose calculators very helpful.  Insulin pumps allow for very small, accurate doses of insulin which is especially important for young patients who require small doses. Information from the insulin pumps can be downloaded, giving doctor’s information about patient’s blood sugar, insulin dose, and carbohydrate intake, which can then be used to accurately adjust insulin doses. 

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are a newer diabetes technology. Within the past year, more accurate and smaller glucose sensors have become available in the United States.  CGMs involve a very small wire, about the size of a hair, that stays under the skin to measure glucose levels.  Attached to the wire is a small plastic glucose transmitter that sits on top of the skin and collects all the glucose information.  CGMs measure glucose every five minutes, giving a much better picture of what is happening to a patient’s blood sugar than just four to six blood sugar checks in a day.  CGMs can also set off an alarm to alert a patient about a high or low blood glucose. 

Very recently, the first step toward the artificial pancreas was approved for use in the United States.  This system involves an insulin pump and a CGM that work together.  If the CGM detects the glucose is low, it will alarm.  If no one responds to the alarm (such as if someone is sleeping very soundly or if they are unconscious), the insulin pump will stop delivery of insulin for up to two hours. 

At the Rainbow Diabetes Technology Clinic, we place CGMs on patients to use for one week and then we use the information to more accurately prescribe insulin doses.  Patients are also able to try different types of CGMs to see if having a CGM of their own, to use all the time, ia helpful.  We also help educate and train patients to use their insulin pumps and CGMs to their full ability.

Another area of focus is making sure our underserved patients – those on Medicaid insurance or without insurance – are able to use insulin pumps and CGMs to the same degree as their peers.  Last year we piloted a program involving the use of text messaging to communicate with the diabetes care team and were able to help seven underserved children start using insulin pumps.  The program also involved much more frequent diabetes appointments with education from the diabetes nurse and dietician.

One patient who participated in this program had always wanted an insulin pump.  Our patient and the patient’s  mom came to six different appointments to learn how to use the pump and frequently sent text messages to communicate with the doctor.  The patient’s blood sugar average went from 240 to 170, which is a big drop, and the patient is having a much easier time taking care of their diabetes.

We are so grateful for the grant from Philoptochos.  This grant is helping us to purchase CGMs and supplies, and will also help provide patients without insurance with supplies for their insulin pump.  A new part of the program we are just starting with the support of Philoptochos is to use a special computer program that will allow us to download information from almost all of the different types of blood sugar meters and insulin pumps.  This program requires less manpower from medical assistants, giving medical assistants more time for other important tasks.  In addition, the information will all be web-based, so if a patient calls with an emergency outside of office hours, the information from their pump or meter will be available anywhere.  This will also be available for patients to download from their home, so they can send the diabetes care team at Rainbow their blood sugar results between appointments. The grant will also help further train and educate our diabetes nurses in the fast-changing field of diabetes technology. 

Thank you Philoptochos for all of your help in improving Rainbow’s Diabetes Technology Clinic!

The Easter Gyro Fundraiser - A Fan Favorite

The Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church Philoptochos Chapter in Winchester, Virginia holds an annual Easter gyro sale to the delight of their parishioners and the local community. It is the Chapter’s largest fundraiser and it allows them to assist those in need both locally and nationally.

The Easter gyro booth generates about $3,000, a large amount for a small parish and community. The majority of the proceeds go towards Social Services to help individuals and families who are struggling and need the support of Philoptochos.

The Chapter began the fundraiser a couple of years ago. Chapter President Maria Boyer said, “I wanted a fundraiser that involved food as the profit margin is better than other fundraisers for us.” The Philoptochos Chapter also runs their annual festival gyro stand. A team of ladies is involved in the preparation both before and during the fundraisers, procuring the essential food items and assembling the gyros. As you can imagine, it’s not just the parish that looks forward to these fundraisers but also the larger Winchester community.

Philoptochos is synonymous with baking but what if your Chapter did something a little bit different, like this Chapter in Winchester, VA. How about selling lobster rolls, cheeseburgers, or perhaps apple, cherry, or lemon meringue pie? The possibilities are truly endless but it’s best to cater to your parish and the surrounding community and create a fundraiser that will stick in their mind year after year.

Happy first day of spring everyone!

-Vivian Siempos

Child’s Way - Offering Much Needed Care for Children with Complex Medical Needs

At the National Philoptochos Children’s Medical Fund Luncheon in October of 2013, $136,900 was awarded in grants for innovative research programs to pediatric hospitals and to organizations with special programs that care for children with critical and life threatening illnesses.

One of the grant recipients was the Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center, receiving $10,000 towards their Child’s Way program. Child’s Way provides a vital alternative or supplemental care for children with acute and chronic medical needs, giving kids the care they need while also offering educational and social activities. Our guest blogger today is Kelsey L. Williams, MPH of The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh and Lemieux Family Center, who gives a comprehensive look into Child’s Way’s history and services.

The work of The Children's Home of Pittsburgh began in 1893 as The Pennsylvania Children's Home Society. The organisation was founded to care for orphaned children and place them in permanent homes. The Adoption Program still thrives today after 120 years of operation. In the 1980s and 1990s, The Children's Home added two distinct, innovative medical programs with the purpose of furthering the continuum of care for children. The Pediatric Specialty Hospital (formerly Transitional Infant Care) opened in 1984 to provide a new model of sub-acute care for infants and their families; in 2007 this model was expanded to include patients up to age 21 with a wide variety of diagnoses. In 1998, Child’s Way was established as yet another model of alternative care for pediatric patients – a Pediatric Extended Care Center; in other words, Child’s Way® is a day care for children with complex medical needs.

The Children's Home established Child's Way as the first Pediatric Extended Care Center (PECC) in Pennsylvania to fill a significant gap in pediatric healthcare services with an innovative program – an alternative and supplement to home care for children with complex medical needs, ages birth to 21. The program provides medically skilled, daytime child care and therapeutic services, allowing families to maintain their employment and health insurance, or continue their education, while their children receive appropriate care. As the only alternative to home care nursing, Child’s Way offers coordinated services in one easy location, which helps ease the sense of isolation many of these families experience and relieves some of the demand created by the nursing shortage. We are the only PECC serving children in Allegheny County.
 

Staffed by pediatric registered nurses and child care associates, providing comprehensive care, the activities, interaction with other children, and therapies at Child’s Way ensure that each child receives the physical, emotional and intellectual stimulation that he or she needs to live a fuller, happier life and reach developmental milestones. 

• Child’s Way has served over 350 children and their families 
• 75 individual children were served in fiscal year 2013 
• 32 new children were admitted to Child’s Way in 2013 (A program high!) 
• In 2013, 10 children transitioned to traditional classroom settings which is the ultimate goal of the program, whenever medically and developmentally possible for a child

The programs of The Children’s Home & Lemieux Family Center continue to adapt and change in response to new needs in the community and are able to thrive by the generosity of organizations, foundations and individuals, committed to helping this region’s children and families. The grant provided by the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society allows The Children’s Home to provide scholarships to Child’s Way families, to ease the financial burden of providing the necessary care required by their child, which makes a tremendous impact.
 
For more information about Child’s Way or The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center, visit our website: www.childrenshomepgh.org. 

The Weirton Christian Center - Providing a Nurturing and Empowering Environment for Children in Need

At the National Philoptochos Children’s Medical Fund Luncheon this past October 2013, $136,900 was given out in grants for innovative research programs to pediatric hospitals and to organizations with special programs that care for children with critical and life threatening illnesses.
 
One of the grant recipients was the Weirton Christian Center of Weirton, West Virginia, who received $5,000 towards their Journey Transportation Project. The Weirton Christian Center serves low-income families in the area, providing clothing, meals, gift cards for groceries for families in need. They also provide an after school program, educational assistance programs, a free preschool and transportation.
 
Our guest blogger this week is Kim Weaver, Executive Director of Weirton Christian Center. Kim explains the reasons behind the ongoing poverty in the area and why the Center’s services are essential for empowering children and their families.

The Weirton Christian Center began in 1917, the same year that Weirton Steel began.  There were 34 different ethnic groups that came to work in the mill and the Christian Center was the place where they learned English, gained citizenship, and met with friends.  Children received immunizations and programs included a basketball league, dance lessons, bible studies, kindergarten and more. So many of our friends at the All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Weirton tell stories of growing up at the Center and all the ways it meant so much to them.

Times have changed in Weirton.  The mill has gone from 13,000 employees to less than 1,000.  There are more unemployed than ever and the big industry of gaming has taken over and many times is the reason for ongoing poverty.  Now, the Center is home to a free pre-school for ages three to five and a free after school program for  K-12th graders. The children arrive by school bus and are given a healthy snack as well as homework help and tutoring each day. Programs include literacy, fitness, music, sign language to praise songs, manners, leadership, and many more. They are provided with dinner three times each week and Blessing Bags of food for long weekends they are not in school with both breakfast and lunch.

Our donation room provides free school supplies at the beginning of the school year and all year long. We have new and used children’s clothing and shoes, and some household items for families. Our God’s Helping Hand Fund provides for emergency utility assistance, and other areas that affect our families.

Project Journey is about empowering people- especially children- through the Journey of Life.  Through these programs we provide training in life skills and transportation. We offer free transportation for pre-school classes and transportation by Center vans home for the children who come to the Center after school.  We have two vans, one   8-passenger and one 15-passenger that take the children home each night. Our 21-passenger van can only be used when we have a driver with a CDL license.  The vans take two trips each and sometimes more to get all the children home, all over town.   We also provide transportation for 12 children to and from the Christian school in Paris, Pennsylvania.  Families ask for rides to work, the grocery store, doctor and dentist appointments, school sporting events and practices. Since we have provided scholarships for Upward Basketball, we also take those children to their practices throughout the week, since most have no other way of getting there.

Thanks to the National Philoptochos Society Children’s Medical Fund, our vehicles will continue to be of service to the underprivileged children and families in our community. 

-Kim Weaver, Executive Director

Weirton Christian Center

Does Philoptochos Promote Heart Health?

Go Red for Women is the American Heart Association’s national call to increase awareness and help prevent heart disease, the number one killer of American women.

The National Philoptochos Society promotes the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign to increase awareness.  The American Heart Association has designated Friday, February 7, 2014 as National Wear Red Day. In support of this program, we are designating Sunday, February 9 as Go Red Sunday and are asking our Philoptochos sisters across the country to join the movement and wear red when attending Church services.  Share information with your Philoptochos sisters, your parish community and all the women you know and love in regards to heart health and heart disease prevention.

With this in mind we have invited one of our beloved regular contributors to Philanthropy by Philoptochos to write about heart health. Denise Millstine, MD not only gives us some wonderful tips in this post on how to keep our hearts healthy but also explains how by being members of Philoptochos we are already giving our hearts a healthy boost.


Have you ever found yourself trying to be healthy only to learn what you are doing is “wrong”? Perhaps you were eating eggs in the morning, only to be told they are causing your cholesterol to be high. Maybe you were running regularly then read it may cause strain on your heart?

The health of our cardiovascular system is dependent upon many variables, some of which are modifiable by our actions, lifestyle, and choices. Still, the advice can be complicated and confusing – not to mention inconsistent and always changing.

It is probably simpler than it seems. Four pillars of heart health have been described by world-renowned researcher and health expert Dr. Dean Ornish, and they are, or easily could be, aligned with our Philoptochos activities and mission.

The pillars are:
    1.    Nutrition
    2.    Fitness
    3.    Stress Management
    4.    Love & Support

(ornishspectrum.com, accessed 1/12/14)

1. Nutrition

What should we eat? Food that we recognize as food – and that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers would recognize as well! If we are eating from a package, there is a good chance our “food” does not meet this criteria. One of the easiest ways to eat real food is to stay on the perimeter of your supermarket – venturing into those inner aisles only on rare occasions.

As Philoptochos, we can encourage this in our communities and families by creating traditional dishes. Next time you serve roast pork, salad, green beans, and rice or homemade bread, pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

2. Fitness 

We all need to move. The standard recommendation is 2 ½ hours per week of moderate exercise. This can be measured by whether or not you can easily hold a conversation during the exertion.

Often, we put the needs of others first and we don’t take the time to prioritize exercise for ourselves. Maybe you cringe at the thought of “hitting the gym” or were injured last time you tried to embrace a fitness program.

If you can, do the exercise with intention and intensity. If you can’t, buy a pedometer to wear as you serve your family, community, and church. You just might find that tracking your steps and setting a goal, probably around 10,000 per day, will encourage more movement incorporated into your daily life.

3. Stress Management

Stress is necessary. A world without stress is not a productive one. Stress can also cause disease. Too much stress contributes to anxiety and insomnia. Did you know it also weakens your immune system and makes you more susceptible to infection, such as colds? Stress, in excess, contributes to chronic diseases as well and must be kept in check.

A Philoptochos woman has a lot to balance – family, career, volunteering, planning, serving, just to name a few. I know each of you has found yourself up late at night baking, putting final details in place for an event or responding to emails. There are many strategies for managing stress, and it is important to choose one that speaks to you. Consider exercise, meditation, music, and prayer. Pausing to acknowledge the present moment and expressing gratitude to God is always a great idea, and it can serve your health as well!

4. Love & Support

We don’t often remember the power of community in maintaining our health or reversing heart disease. Dr. Ornish has found this “connectedness” to be an integral part of treating and reversing heart disease.

You invite. You welcome. You link yourself to other women in Philoptochos and strengthen those bonds with time, trust, and shared experiences. Next time you find yourself preparing a room for an event or sitting around a table in planning, let the love you feel for the women around you fill your heart – and make you healthy at the same time!

Maybe I should start writing this prescription to my patients who are concerned about heart disease: “Join Philoptochos!”

-Denise Millstine, MD

Autism Awareness – An Interview with Steve Mulvoy

Our guest blogger this week is one of our National Board members, Barbara Orlando, from Massachusetts. She is on the National Philoptochos Autism Assistance Fund Committee and wants to make a difference by spreading awareness of autism and by doing so, alerting all of the support available locally and nationally and the support we must all give to individuals and families who face an autism diagnosis. Barbara recently interviewed one of her parishioners with autism, here is his story, told by Barbara:

Paul Bobotas, Steve Mulvoy, Barbara Orlando, and George Stavros

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Steve Mulvoy, a fellow Parishioner at Saint Gregory the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in Mansfield, MA. We spoke at length about his condition known as Asperger’s syndrome*.

Steve’s mother noticed certain behaviors when Steve was about four years old that caused her enough concern to bring him to a neurologist for testing. The testing confirmed his diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome.

Steve resides in Medfield, MA with his father, Thomas, and his brothers. Steve was very open about his Asperger’s. He told me to please “Ask him anything.” He reflected on his younger years and said that he had a tendency to isolate himself, especially in grade school. Steve credits his late mother for helping him attend the “Learning Prep” School in Newton, Ma. She advocated for him every step of the way. She would not give up on helping Steve attain the proper educational placement. She met with the local superintendent of schools and insisted that Steve be given the opportunity to attend “Learning Prep.”

Steve said that in middle school he began to have a few friends who shared the same background as himself. Steve mentioned that he was an excellent speller in school and won all the spelling bees. In high school he attained all A’s and B’s. Steve said that he would not have done so well had it not been for the small classroom sizes of no more than ten students.

Steve went on to attend Mount Ida College in Newton and received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in May of 2011. He works part-time assisting a neighbor in their office, keeping things organized and tying up loose ends. Steve also is very active in Church, teaching Sunday school, helping out with both third and fourth grade classes and high school.

He is a wonderful young man and was a pleasure to speak to. Steve is a beautiful example of how Asperger’s syndrome doesn’t hold a person back. People with Asperger’s syndrome experience difficulties in the area of social imagination, communication and interaction.

People with Asperger’s syndrome face varying degrees of difficulty, as individuals, they have different strengths and needs. There is great support available through organizations as well as the local community.

Here are a few resources for individuals and families faced with an autism diagnosis who would like more information or support:

• The May Institute is a school for Autistic children, founded on Cape Cod in 1955. It now has 165 programs located nationwide. http://www.mayinstitute.org/ 

• The American Autism Association's website contains a variety of information, a blog, recent updates on research and links for all ages from young children to adults.  http://www.myautism.org/

• The National Autism Association is an excellent resource that also offers a blog, information on wandering and safety, many contacts for information, and a place for parents and loved ones to express their concerns. http://nationalautismassociation.org/

- Barbara Orlando

* The diagnosis of Asperger's was eliminated in the 2013 fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)  and replaced by a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder on a severity scale.

Ovarian Cancer - Facts All Women Should Know

"This is an important initiative for us, as a women's organization, to undertake. Simply put, awareness about ovarian cancer will save lives - that is our goal."

-National Philoptochos President Aphrodite Skeadas 

In the September/October issue of the Philanthropy Witness we announced a grant that was awarded to National Philoptochos from the HERA Women's Cancer Foundation towards disseminating bilingual information about the risks and symptoms of ovarian cancer. Philoptochos efforts were to focus on reaching out to women and their families who are unwilling or unable to access mainstream services due to language and/or cultural barriers.

Paulette Geanacopoulous, National Philoptochos' Director of Social Work, who wrote the proposal and the Ovarian Cancer Fact Sheets in Greek and English said, "Unlike other gender-based cancers, there is no one reliable early detection test for ovarian cancer. Consequently, we must know and recognize its symptoms so that we can act quickly and appropriately."

Is it an ovarian cyst or ovarian cancer?

Is it an abdominal condition or ovarian cancer?

Is it constipation or ovarian cancer?

OVARIAN CANCER is a deadly disease that kills more women than all other reproductive cancers combined. Because it is hard to detect - there is no one reliable test to identify it - and as some of its symptoms are similar to other conditions, it is important to recognize it signs so that we can act quickly and appropriately. As a women's organization, it is equally important for us to "get the word out" - to our mothers, aunts, and grandmothers, to our daughters, neighbors, and friends so that they know what to look for. To help you do so, we have prepared an "Ovarian Cancer Fact Sheet" - both in Greek and in English.

Click here for the Ovarian Cancer Fact Sheet - Greek version

Click here for the Ovarian Cancer Fact Sheet - English version

We urge you to take one or more of the actions to broadly distribute these Fact Sheets throughout your Chapter, Parish and community-at-large:

• Ask your priest to include both in your Sunday Bulletin
• Distribute copies to the organizations in your Church, including the Parish Council, GOYA, Greek and Sunday Schools, parent organizations, senior citizen groups, etc.
• Post both Fact Sheets in the women's rooms of your Church.
• Place both Fact Sheets in a public area of your Church. 
• Ask a local newspaper to publish the Fact Sheets and ask the local "health editor" to write an article on ovarian cancer.
• Invite a gynecological oncologist from a local hospital or cancer society to one of your general meetings to give a presentation on ovarian cancer.
• Use your imagination - what else works in your community to get the word out?