48 DI ABETIC LI VING / S UMMER 2 019
organized, structured coalition with op-
erating guidelines and documentation
for how to respond,” says Mueller. To-
gether, the coalition had better informa-
tion, was more organized, and was able
to be faster and more efficient than any
one organization working alone.
Today the coalition includes the
original three organizations—the ADA,
IFL USA, and JDRF—plus many others,
including the American Association for
Clinical Endocrinologists, the American
Association of Diabetes Educators, Be-
yond Type 1, the Endocrine Society, the
Diabetes Research Institute Foundation,
Lilly Diabetes, and T1D Exchange. Carol
Atkinson and Kelly Mueller are co-chairs.
Not only does the coalition help connect
supplies to those in need after a disas-
ter; they’re also keen on preparedness
education, and host diabetes-specific
disaster-preparedness plans in English
and Spanish on their website (diabetes
disasterresponse.org).
“We all know how hard it is for people
living with diabetes when life is dis-
rupted,” Mueller says. “If we can help and
alleviate some part of that burden, that
makes this worthwhile.”
RELYING ON VOLUNTEERS
All of IFL USA’s work is done at their
headquarters with a small staff of just five
employees, including Carol and Philip
Atkinson, although they’re planning on
expanding. They rely on volunteers—
often students at the University of Florida
as well as people in the community.
According to Philip, IFL USA has about
200 volunteers a year who usually put in a
couple of hours at a time.
Kona Menyonga, a volunteer who’s
now in nursing school at the University of
South Florida in Tampa, has a special rea-
son for helping out.
“I’m West African,” she explains. “My
family came to the U.S. when I was 6
months old. Growing up, I heard stories of
close family friends passing away from di-
abetes from lack of supplies, lack of educa-
tion. Plus, I took a ‘Health Disparities’ class
at the University of Florida and learned
how hard it is to get diabetes supplies.
In the class there was an announcement
that IFL USA needed volunteers to help
after Hurricane Irma in September 2017.
Insulin supplies were coming in and they
needed help processing them. It really res-
onated with me. My volunteer experience
was my first introduction to the day-to-day
reality of managing diabetes. I learned
how to use the devices, test strips, and pen
needles. How to check insulin levels and
why there are so many types of test strips.
And how expensive it all is. I came to have
an appreciation as to why so many people
with diabetes have health disparities.
“In West Africa, I know how much
need there is for health care supplies.” she
adds. “IFL USA offers a lot of awareness
of the issue as well as the actual supplies.
It put things in perspective. Seeing their
passion about what they do made me
think about natural disasters and victims
in a more complete way than just food and
shelter. What does a person need to live
beyond food and water? As health care
professionals, we can learn about these dis-
eases and how to treat them, but our mind
may not go there, so this level of education
was illuminating and I so appreciate what
they do. I can imagine if an NGO worked
in places where my parents were from, that
would make a huge difference.”
SOURCING SUPPLIES
IFL USA primarily gets donations
from individuals. “We have a couple of
organizations that have helped, but it
comes back to the diabetes community
at large,” Carol Atkinson says. “If
[individuals] have things they personally
cannot utilize, they donate them.”
The organization is licensed by the
State of Florida’s Department of Busi-
ness and Professional Regulation as a
restricted prescription drug distributor–
charitable organization. They adhere to
protocols that include proper refrigera-
tion from storage to shipping, and not
working with expired supplies or supplies
that have been used. They obviously
don’t accept expired or partially used
drugs, but they can accept unused sup-
plies and insulin from individuals.
It’s common for IFL USA to re-
ceive donations from people who have
switched types of supplies and have ex-
cess supplies that they will no longer use.
For instance, when young New Yorker
Skyler Covino, who has type 1 diabetes,
switched to a pump, she and her mom
searched online to see where they could
donate her unused supplies and came
upon Insulin for Life USA.
