Inpatient Services
Parent's Guide to Diabetes Inpatient Program
Description
Your child was referred to Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital for management of his/her diabetes.
The Diabetes Team:
The multi-disciplinary care team consists of the following:
- pediatric endocrinologist or pediatrician
- pediatric nurse practitioner
- certified diabetes educator
- dietician
- social worker
Our staff nurses also work closely with you to answer your questions related to managing your child's diabetes.
Types of Services:
- Diabetes Education and Survival Skill Training: A program for children who are newly diagnosed with diabetes or who are unfamiliar with testing blood sugar and injecting insulin.
- Insulin pump therapy: A program for children with type 1 diabetes who demonstrate the ability to manage diabetes on an advanced level are candidates for an insulin pump. During this brief hospital stay, patients receive intensive training and blood sugar monitoring as insulin is started in the pump. The family and child apply their diabetes knowledge to participate in decision-making during the hospitalization.
- Unstable diabetes: Children with a history of poor diabetes control or multiple hospital admissions will be evaluated by the diabetes team to identify possible causes for the poor diabetes control. The hospital stay provides the opportunity for the team to monitor the child's blood sugars and food intake and to adjust insulin doses while giving refresher education and providing counseling, if needed.
What to Expect:
The purpose of your child's hospitalization determines the length of their stay. On the day of admission, you are required to spend approximately three hours to answer questions about your child's health, receive education and participate in planning your child's care with the diabetes team.
During the remainder of your child's hospital stay, you are required to commit to one or two hours a day for education.
What to Bring:
The recreation room has many games, computers and activities for your child to enjoy. The recreation room is staffed by our child life team and is open at various hours each day.
Please bring your child's favorite books, videos and bedside activities to occupy your child when the rec room is closed. To make your child's stay more comfortable, we encourage all our patients to dress in their own day and night clothes.
Food Service:
The dietician will make every effort to coordinate your child's meal plan based on food likes and dislikes.
Because your child's food intake is a significant part of his/her diabetes plan, we ask that you not give additional food to your child or bring food from home without discussing with your diabetes educator or dietician.
For your use, the cafeteria is open from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday - Friday. Vending machines are available 24 hours a day. Please be aware that there is a money change machine for smaller bills not large bills. You may order food delivery from one of the local restaurants. Ask the charge nurse for a selection of restaurant menus.