The Future Plans - The Circle of Life Center

The Circle of Life Camp, Inc., a not-for-profit resident camp for children and adolescents with diabetes, was founded in 1996. The camp provides the fundamental, age-appropriate diabetes education and social support essential for adolescents to properly manage their diabetes. The campers experience a unique opportunity to interact in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere, which fosters understanding, acceptance of their condition, and proper emotional development. They are able to share their knowledge, experience, and concerns as well as participate in educational sessions and recreational camping activities.

The Purpose of the Circle of Life Center

Due to the exponentially increasing incidence of diabetes in children and adolescents and the data we have regarding medical and psychological complications of the disease, the Circle of Life Center would fill a gap in our healthcare system by providing comprehensive medical, psychological, and social support that youngsters and their families require to live with diabetes.

There are few specialized healthcare facilities where children with diabetes receive this comprehensive treatment. Currently, many children having problems with diabetes management are seen for diabetes education and psychological treatment at two separate outpatient facilities. Other children who are having significant psychological problems surrounding their diagnosis are placed into in patient psychiatric wards, where they are medicated for their psychological diagnosis and referred elsewhere for diabetes management education and life skills.

The few sub-acute inpatient facilities for children that do currently exist which offer comprehensive treatment are not specialized in diabetes; they are general facilities for all medical diagnoses. At these general facilities, the medical staff attempts to integrate diabetes management into their program, which is often not sufficient because of the continuous monitoring and strict schedule that diabetes management poses (i.e., the schedules are not flexible enough to accommodate diabetes regimens and the supervision they require). Even in these facilities, children with diabetes are often alienated by being excluded from many activities and services that the hospital provides because the programs are ill-equipped to accommodate a child with diabetes in such a setting (which is mirroring the environment that they have been experiencing previous to their hospitalization and one of the major factors that contributed to their referral and current medical and psychological distress).

To offer the most comprehensive and effective treatment for children and families with diabetes, the Circle of Life Center would offer a holistic approach to treatment. The Center would offer professional medical and psychological treatment as well as social support for diabetes simultaneously.

Education and psychosocial support for children with diabetes to live happy and healthy lives.

• The Residential Treatment Facility
  

  The Residential Treatment Facility of the Circle of Life Center would be a year-round 25 bed residential facility which would treat children, ages 7-18, having difficulty with their diabetes management (i.e, adherence issues, understanding how to manage it, performing management tasks, etc.) and/ or psychological problems which originated from having the disease (i.e, adjustment to diabetes, depression, anxiety, etc.). The length of stay at the facility would depend on the the patient's individual and family needs, ranging form three weeks to one year. The Facility would offer patients and their families customized diabetes education as well as medical and psychological treatment in a supportive environment. The ultimate goal for patients at the facility would be to receive the necessary medical, psychological, and social treatment and education to manage and integrate diabetes into their daily lives, improving their health and quality of life.

• The Camp
  

  The Circle of Life Camp, Inc., is currently a not-for-profit resident camp for boys and girls, ages 8-15 with diabetes that was founded in 1996. The camp helps to provide social support and age-appropriate diabetes education for children coping with adolescence and diabetes. The camp offers children a unique opportunity to interact in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere, which fosters understanding and acceptance of their condition. Campers are able to share their knowledge, experience, and concerns as well as participate in short educational sessions and recreational camping activities.

  Currently, the camp rents a facility for two weeks to host two camp sessions for 50 campers (ages 8-15) and 10 counselors-in-training (ages 16-17)each session. With a year-round permanent site, the Circle of Life Camp would offer eight week-long sessions of camp over the summer, hosting 60 campers and 10 counselor-in-training each session, offering our services to over 550 children each summer. The camp would also expand its programming and offer winter weekends, family camps, sibling sessions, and two week-long vacation retreats for children during the school vacation in the winter.

Until there is a cure ... there's the Circle of Life Camp