Diabetes center aims to save lives with Yellow Dot event
AM Diabetes and Endocrinology Center in Bartlett will host a Yellow Dot Program on July 28 to provide free emergency kits to people with diabetes.
Attendees will receive Yellow Dot packets that include detailed information about the person's health history and condition, providing first responders with access to the information should the person experience a car accident or health issues while driving. The person's photo will also be included in the packet, and a Yellow Dot sticker will be placed in the bottom left of the vehicle's rear windshield.
"Oftentimes, it is difficult to assess patients with diabetes who are hypoglycemic and are in a car accident," said Dr. Kashif Latif, AM Diabetes and Endocrinology Center's medical director. "Hav-
AM Diabetes and Endocrinology Center, 3025 Kate Bond Road, Bartlett Light refreshments will be provided.
ing a Yellow Dot sticker and kit will give emergency crews all of the necessary information in real time, allowing them to accurately treat patients who may be incapacitated due to abnormal blood glucose levels."
A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analyzed crash data from July 2005-December 2007 and found 20 percent of all medical issue motor crashes were related to diabetic reactions, such as insulin shock or uncontrolled glucose levels. Also, drivers with diabetes are 19 percent more at risk for a motor vehicle crash than those without diabetes, according to a University of Iowa driving assessment study.
Janet Curtis, the mother of a daughter with Type 1 diabetes and the diabetes management program coordinator for AM Diabetes and Endocrinology Center, hopes the event will save the lives of people with diabetes.
"I am the parent of a 21-year-old Type 1 diabetic who has lived with the disease for almost 10 years. I know the reality of the disease and the unpredictability that comes with living with (Type 1 diabetes). An emergency can occur quickly and at any moment," Curtis said. "Should an accident occur, my desire is that she is tended to as quickly as possible. Knowing her health history can make a difference in prompt action and life and death in the 'Golden Hour' immediately following a serious crash."
The Yellow Dot Program was passed unanimously by the Tennessee General Assembly and was signed by Gov. Bill Haslam in April 2012. The program was implemented Jan. 8, 2014, making Tennessee one of the 22 states participating in the national program.
Curtis hopes the event will impact the community and make a difference.
"Our overall goal with our event is to bring awareness to this free, Tennessee state-run program that has the potential to save individual lives," she said. "By being one of only six distribution sites in the area surrounding Memphis, and making the Yellow Dot packets available to anyone who would like to pick one up, we feel we can make a difference and impact our community for the good."