MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis Mayor Paul Young is launching an initiative to provide free, at-home Type-1 diabetes screening kits to residents.
Mayor Young and his wife, Jamila Smith-Young, are working to provide these screening kits to citizens, with Mrs. Young serving as the ambassador for the program. "As many of you know, my wife, Jamila, is a nurse practitioner in the Methodist-Le Bonheur Children's Hospital endocrinology department," Mayor Young said. "It's been proven that early detection can greatly improve the lives of people living with Type-1 diabetes. Knowledge is power, and it is vital for more of our community screened."
Health leaders in Memphis have a bold goal: to see every resident screened for Type-1 diabetes. Now, with these at-home screening kits, that goal may be within reach, as residents can now screen themselves in the privacy and comfort of their own homes.
"Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune dysfunction where the immune system attacks the pancreas, impairing its ability to produce insulin," said Dr. Kashif Latif, an endocrinologist whom Mayor Young named as the leader of the screening program.
The disease comes with a heavy cost in the U.S.: about $14.5 billion each year in treatment, care, and lost productivity.
Pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Kathryn Sumpter says that, at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, they diagnose 2-3 new Type-1 diabetes cases weekly. She says often families learn of it during critical, sometimes life-threatening, moments. "About 40% of people find out because they get very sick and end up in the hospital with a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA."
The newly introduced kits are designed to be user-friendly. Although this new technology has been available for more than four years, it will be more accessible to our community.
"Now that we have a medication that could potentially alter the course of the disease, screening has become essential," Dr. Sumpter said.
The free screening kits are available now at the AM Diabetes and Endocrinology Center, Methodist Hospitals in Memphis and Germantown, as well as Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, with additional distribution centers to be announced. The kits are easy to use, and results will be returned discreetly within four weeks.
Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Trending stories:
2 dead, 6 others including police officer injured after stolen car crashes during chase, MPD says Man wanted for Mississippi murder caught in Memphis, U.S. Marshals say Man arrested after local musician killed in shooting outside Midtown bar, records show Mid-South Most Wanted Fugitives