HELP A DIABETIC CHILD (HADC) EARNS GRANT FROM ADVENTHEATH

HELP A DIABETIC CHILD (HADC) EARNS GRANT FROM ADVENTHEATH, SUPPORTING INSULIN, MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

Help A Diabetic Child (HADC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting underserved, uninsured and underinsured children and young adults who live with diabetes and struggle financially, announced that it has been awarded a $10,000 grant from AdventHealth. This grant will cover the cost of life-saving insulin, diabetes medical supplies and physician visits for children in need in the Central Florida area.

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a chronic (life-long) autoimmune disease in which the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to naturally regulate the body’s blood sugar, leaving diagnosed individuals with a life-long dependency on costly medical insulin. Without daily insulin injections and blood sugar monitoring, a child can only survive a few days.

“We are seeing an increase in need for our services in Central Florida for children who live with T1D or who have been newly diagnosed,” said Tami Balavage, Founder/President for HADC. “The need is particularly acute in schools where diabetes medical supplies are needed to control glucose levels, enabling students to remain in class. We are grateful to AdventHealth for helping us reach these children in need.”

AdventHealth, also known as the Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation, is a large non-profit health care system affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, it operates more than 50 hospital campuses and 2,000 care sites across multiple states, employing over 100,000 caregivers.

Established in Naples in 2013, Help A Diabetic Child supports underserved children, young adults and their families in parts of Florida and Pennsylvania who live with Type 1 diabetes and who cannot afford insulin, diabetes medical supplies and medical services.

The nonprofit organization was founded by Tami and Joe Balavage after their 16-year-old son was diagnosed with the disease. It quickly became evident that there was a significant number of children who were unable to get adequate medical supplies for blood glucose testing and insulin injections, which must be done multiple times daily.

The number of Americans being diagnosed with diabetes continues to rise at alarming rates. The American Diabetes Association reports that almost 10 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes, while another 8 million are undiagnosed. In addition, the ADA reports that 86 million Americans over the age of 20 years have pre-diabetes.

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a nearly 30 percent increase in Type 1 diabetes diagnoses in the United States, with youth cases growing most sharply among diverse populations.

Diagnosed cases of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are surging among youth in the United States. From 2001 to 2017, the number of people under age 20 living with Type 1 diabetes rose 45 percent and the number living with Type 2 diabetes grew by 95 percent.

The goal for Help A Diabetic Child is to continue to do all that it can to do its part in helping those children who, through no fault of their own, are left behind. For additional information or to support the organization’s mission of providing life-saving medical supplies and services, please call 239-821-5051 or visit www.helpadiabeticchild.org.