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Most families who face a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis never see it coming. More than 80 percent of those diagnosed have no family history of the disease, which means too many children and adults first learn they have it only after a frightening trip to the emergency room. I believe that is exactly the kind of preventable crisis Sen. Susan Collins is working to address.
As co-chair of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, Collins recently joined Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire to reintroduce the bipartisan SCREEN for Type 1 Diabetes Act. The bill would launch a national awareness campaign so families and health care providers can recognize the warning signs early, before a child ends up in a hospital with a life-threatening complication. Earlier detection can also open the door to treatments that delay the onset of the disease.
This is the kind of practical, commonsense work that does not always make headlines but changes lives. Rates of Type 1 diabetes among young people have been rising for years, and the bill has earned the backing of the American Diabetes Association and Breakthrough T1D.
It is also part of a longer record. Collins has fought to cap the cost of insulin and to invest in diabetes research and treatment. She reaches across the aisle and delivers results.
Mainers are fortunate to have a senator who quietly works to keep families safe.
Rebecca Buder
North Berwick