A training program at the Diabetes & Endocrine Center for Children & Young Adults at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., is helping diabetic children learn to use their insulin pumps.

Cortland Hawkes, a 15-year-old from Gardiner, N.Y., said that he’ll enjoy the increased flexibility of his insulin pump, which will allow him simple pleasures like having a meal or a snack at a friend’s house without worrying too much about his diabetes. “I didn’t really want to do it at first but, after getting into the program, it seems pretty easy, and seems much easier than the program I was on,” said Hawks.

“Sometimes he goes out, and he knows he has to go home for dinner because he didn’t take his insulin. Now he has it on him and has more options,” said Cortland’s father, Michael Hawks.

The training program recently taught four young diabetics and their parents to use their insulin pumps in a two-night stay at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center. The patients were Type 1 diabetics; insulin pumps are usually used to treat Type 1 diabetes.

Dr. Richard Noto is the director of the Diabetes & Endocrine Center for Children & Young Adults at Phelps in addition to being the chief of pediatric endocrinology at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. He heads up the insulin pump training program; according to Dr. Noto, insulin pumps offer greater flexibility for both diabetics and their families over insulin shots. The opportunity to stay with parents and kids over the course of a few days is also much more beneficial than a simple visit to the office.

“They are more educated, more confident, and we have less problems with patients,” said Noto. He has been conducting the program since the 1980s; the last five years have been held at Phelps. It is offered once a month and helps 65 to 80 families learn to use insulin pumps every year. Health insurance usually covers the program.

Insulin pumps, about the size of a cell phone, monitor the blood sugar levels of a patient throughout the day and administer insulin when necessary. Previously, children would require frequent insulin checkups, scheduled mealtimes, and shots throughout the day. Diabetes in children is also more difficult to monitor because of their fluctuating hormone levels, which are more inconsistent than those of adults.

Evan Kroner is the parent of a former patient in the program. His daughter Jessica underwent the program at age 7; now, at 16 years old, Kroner feels that the experience was beneficial. “No matter what went wrong or when it went wrong, there was somebody there to help you,” said Kroner. “There’s a lot of peace of mind as a parent when you know there are highly trained people there every second.”

Among the skills that parents and children learn at the program are inserting the needle into the skin, determining the necessary amount of insulin, and programming the pump. They also learn to treat extreme blood sugar levels at both ends of the spectrum and to give intramuscular shots, which quickly return elevated blood sugar down to moderate levels.

Garrett Guerrieri, a 10-year-old from Monroe, N.Y., recently took part in the program and is excited about the freedom that his pump will offer over injections. “It might be a little bit complicated at first, but a little after the first week, you probably get the hang of it,” said Guerrieri.