Parents ask Manitoba to offer insulin help for younger students in schools

Some Manitoba parents whose children have Type 1 diabetes are asking the provincial government to help their kids in school.

Young children in some provinces, such as Nova Scotia and British Columbia, get help from trained school personnel, often teaching assistants, in using their insulin pumps during the school day.

That’s not the case in Manitoba, and parent Stephanie Biegun says she had to drive 40 minutes each way to her son’s school over lunch to perform the task.

Biegun says she ended up quitting her job, which means she has lost income and her workplace health insurance.

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Opposition Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook says changing the government’s policy would not be expensive and would make a big difference in parents’ lives.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says the NDP government is looking at the matter and hinted changes may be coming.

“We want to make sure that all kids have the opportunity to go to school and thrive and focus on their school work,” Asagwara said Tuesday.

“We also recognize that this isn’t something that, as a government, we can just hand down. We’ve got to do this work with our partners, educators, leaders in school divisions to make sure that they fully understand what their responsibilities are and that they have the full support of government behind them.”

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Insulin pumps are small, wearable devices that deliver a steady amount of insulin and are an alternative to injections. They often need to be adjusted at meal times in a task that can take a few minutes.

Biegun said she is hoping the government changes things soon.

“I think our kids deserve better. We deserve better,” she said.

“I think having to quit my job to give my son health care in school is not right.”

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