Quinte Insulin Pumpers Meeting, February 2005 On Wednesday, February 16, 2005, ten persons and their support persons concerned with the delivery of insulin by means of insulin pumps gathered at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 516 Victoria Avenue, Belleville Ontario, 7:00-9:00 pm. Marathon Update Pumper Heather Gammage will leave Canada on March 10, 2005 for Italy. She is in training to participate in the Rome Marathon on Sunday March 13, sponsored by the Canadian Diabetes Association. Heather expressed appreciation to all who had contributed to her fundraising for diabetes research administered by the Canadian Diabetes Association. To wish her well, contact Heather at heathergammage@hotmail.com Ê Guest Speaker Jessica Reynolds Nash of Auto Control Medical, distributor of Animas products, presented that companyâs insulin infusion pumps. Their R1000 insulin pump came on the market in the year 2000, the IR1000 in 2002 and the IR 1200 in the following year. The IR 1200 has a 0.025 basal rate. This low rate is important for use with small children such as the 10-day-old Hamilton baby currently receiving insulin by intravenous. It has 0.025 U/hr basal increments to precisely match insulin to individual needs. Special features include CarbSmart to compute bolus dose based on food intake and personal settings; ezFlex Programming to allow for quick temporary adjustments; ezBG to calculate bolus dose based on blood glucose and personal settings; Insulin on Board that keeps track of unused bolus insulin helping to prevent hypoglycaemia; and Combo Bolus to set both a normal and extended bolus for up to twelve hours. The IR 1200 displays up to 9 lines on screen. The user can turn on and off the features listed above. The IR 1200 uses one AA lithium battery which can last up to eight weeks. It also accepts an alkaline battery that will last one to three weeks. Even if the batteries are removed for a considerable amount of time, programming and pump history are stored in RAM (memory). The IR 1200 stores 600 boluses, 120 daily totals, 30 alarms, 60 primes, 30 suspends and 270 basal records. The software for downloading is coming soon. The IR 1200 holds 200 units of insulin. The user can choose an alert of a low cartridge at 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 units. The alerts can be either by vibration or by sound with the volume set at low medium or high. Unfortunately, we did not have the high volume demonstrated, and this strength of signal is a concern is a concern for care givers in our membership. It is claimed that the IR 1200 is waterproof at 12 feet for 24 hours. The speculations about why a pump would be in water for 24 hours produced some chuckles. This insulin pump is also insulated against malfunction due to static electricity. Customer service is on-call 24-7. If a customer in Belleville reports a malfunction, a replacement pump should be at the door in the two-hour driving time from the Toronto office of Auto Control Medical. In addition, pump wearers going on vacation or to a remote location can complete a form to have a back-up pump to take with them. According to Jessica, start-up support is available in Kingston and Joyce at Belleville General Hospital is good. She said that Animas has a service to help new purchasers with health insurance forms. According to Jessica, all infusion sets are manufactured by one company and then packaged under different brand labels. Among the items circulated for examination was an Insuflon, a device that can accept repeated injections, a precursor to a pump site, ÊÊuseful for patients with needle phobia or for paediatric oncology. It can be left inserted three to five days. Supplies are available on order through every pharmacy in Ontario or through Auto Control Medical, telephone 1 800 461-0991 or www.autocontrol.com . It costs about $189 per month for supplies and $ 6599 for an Animas pump. Ms. Reynolds Nash demonstrated several attractive styles of pump cases available from www.collinscreations.com Êat $16.95 each. Diabetes Hope Foundation Support Children who are CHEO Ottawa patients for at least a year can apply to the Diabetes Hope Foundation for financial assistance with the costs of education, pumps and basic diabetic supplies. Contact Diabetes Hope Foundation, 6150 Dixie Road, Unit #1, Mississauga. ON L5T 2E2, Telephone (905) 670-0557 www.diabeteshopefoundation.com Type 1 Diabetes vs. Type Chair Nancy Stafford reported a recent newspaper interview with Dr. Goddard-Hill, Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Medical Officer of Health, in which diabetes was classed as a life-style disease resulting from poor choices without making mention of the fact that Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease. She plans to write a letter. Ontario Legislature Bill 55 On April 22, 2004, Michael Gravelle MLA introduced Bill 55 in the Ontario Legislature, Toronto. ÊÊBill 55 would amend the Health Insurance Act by making the provision of insulin pumps and supplies an insured service under the act. Since it has not passed yet, it seems appropriate that we remind the legislators of our concerns. The following addresses may help you. Hon. Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario Room 282, Main Legislative Building, Toronto ON M7A 2R9 Hon. George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long Term Care 80 Grosvenor Street, 10th Floor, Hepburn Block Toronto ON M7A 2C4 Hon. Greg Sorbara, Minister of Finance 7 Queenâs Park Crescent, 7th Floor, Frost Building South Toronto ON M7A 1Y7 Hon. Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of the Environment MLA Hastings-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington 135 St. Clair Avenue West, 12th Floor Toronto ON M4V 1P5 Ernie Parsons, MLA Prince-Edward Hastings Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community Services and Development 80 Grosvenor Street, 6th Floor Hepburn Block Toronto ON M7A 1E9 Lou Rinaldi, MLA Northumberland Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal 900 Bay Street, 6th Floor, Mowat Block Toronto ON M7A 1C2 Michael Gravelle, MLA Thunder Bay-Superior North Room 369, Main Legislative Building Toronto ON M7A 1A4 For telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, constituency addresses and information about other members, search for Legislative Assembly of Ontario and then click on Members. Under Current Members, click on Addresses and Contact Information. Coming Events Sunday, February 27, 2005, 3:00-5:00 pm Skating Party sponsored by Shoppers Drug Mart, at Trenton Memorial Gardens followed by snacks at Wahoo CafŽ, 2 Dundas Street East, Trenton. Wednesday, March 16, 2005, 7:00-9:00 pm: Regular monthly meeting with guest speaker at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 516 Victoria Avenue, Belleville Ontario.