To many, summer means warmer days, dips in the pool, and corn on the cob. One of my favorite things about summer is visiting Camp Ho Mita Koda. I love the energy of the staff and campers. I love the happy sounds coming from the pool, the lake and the "Squirrel Cage."  There is a lot of laughter at camp-in the arts & crafts cabin, in the dining hall, in the drama cabin. I especially love the fact that at Camp Ho Mita Koda, diabetes simply blends in with normal camp activities rather than sets the kids apart. Year after year, I hear from campers' parents that camp is the only place during the year where their children feel normal.

  For many months before the first camper arrives, the camp's staff members are busy getting the camp ready. This includes organizing and welcoming groups of community volunteers to the camp's

Swagelok Emerging Professionals volunteering their time at CHMK

grounds. This spring, dozens of generous volunteers cleaned the camp's cabins, made repairs to fences and buildings, donated and planted flowers and trees, and organized the arts and crafts cabin.  And that's just the beginning! You can read more below about what these special people have done for camp this year. We are delighted that each year, people who know very little about the magic of Camp Ho Mita Koda discover the beauty of its 75 acres and learn about the wonderful community of children and teenagers who make camp their "home" each summer. Thank you to our incredible Camp Ho Mita Koda volunteers and to everyone who supports this special camp. I look forward to spending time there at our Open House on June 18, which kicks off our 82^nd summer of creating a fun summer experience for children with diabetes.

   Early this year, students from the Ohio State University Colleges of Pharmacy and Nursing approached the Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland to be a part of a special health care mission. Each year students from these colleges travel to Honduras to deliver medical services to some to the poorest people in the world.  They perform health assessments for men, women and children, perform screenings for diabetes and hypertension and provide basic health education to health care workers in the area.

   Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland Nurse Educator Dan Finkenthal worked with the students to provide glucose meters and meter test strips for this year's mission. "I have no doubt that we helped diagnose several people with diabetes who would otherwise have been left untreated," said Finkenthal. The medical team of OSU students treated more than 2,000 people during the mission in March at clinics near dump sites in the cities of Tegucigalpa and Choluteca. Click here to read more about this medical mission in a letter from the OSU School of Pharmacy. 

   Sitting among the delicious choices of food at many family reunions this summer will be some important items of information about diabetes. For the 12^th year, the Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland is offering its popular African American Family Reunion kits to help increase diabetes awareness among African Americans.  Diabetes, primarily type 2, affects 1 in 8 African Americans making it one of the most serious health risks facing this population. The free packets include information about diabetes, healthy soul food recipes, a fan that includes the signs and symptoms of diabetes and activities for children. Call the Diabetes Association of Greater Office at 216-591-0800 to request kits for your upcoming reunion or to learn more about the program.

Vicki Goodrich, RN

   The Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland and Camp Ho Mita Koda are pleased to announce the winners of the 2011 Susan J. Kramer Award for Excellence in School Nursing.  The winners are Vicki Goodrich, RN, BSN of Hawken Lower/Middle School; Kim E. LaScola, RN of Hudson Middle School; and Judy L. MacFarland, RN of Brady Middle School. Each of these deserving women has held the position of school nurse

Kim E. LaScola, RN

for at least 13 years. All three have worked tirelessly with young students who have type 1 diabetes. They help the students manage the disease while at school and work side-by-side with their families to make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable. Each school nurse was very humbled to receive this award and agreed that her students have taught her more about diabetes than she ever learned in

nursing school.

Judy L. MacFarland, RN

   The Susan J. Kramer Award for Excellence in School Nursing is named after its first recipient, Susan J. Kramer, RN, BSN, the school nurse at Laurel School.This annual award recognizes the contributions of a school nurse who has shown compassion, initiative and leadership in the care and management of diabetes in an elementary, middle or high school setting. The award also raises funds for the Nurse Appreciation Campership Fund. Congratulations to these special women!

   The Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland has updated its free audio recordings of diabetes educational materials. The two recordings, Diabetes: The Basics and Living with Diabetes and Visual Impairment, are available as free CDs and USB drives to people living with diabetes and visual impairment or who have other print disabilities. Free MP3 downloads of the same information is available to everyone. Click here for information on how to order CDs or USB drives or to download MP3 files.

   These valuable materials were produced through the generosity of the National Eye Institute's Healthy Vision Community Awards Program. A special note of thanks to Ann Williams, a member of DAGC's Board of Directors, whose efforts helped secure a grant to update these materials.