The V.I. Diabetes Center of Excellence, in partnership with the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation and the V.I. Department of Education, officially launched its Childhood Diabetes Prevention Program on Friday at Eulalie R. Rivera K-8 School on St. Croix.
The new initiative aims to identify, educate, and empower children who may be at risk for diabetes, beginning with screenings at schools across the territory. The mobile health center features a waiting area with a television, a triage area, and two examination rooms.
Dr. Julia Sheen, medical director of VIDCOE, said the program comes at a crucial time as the number of young people diagnosed with diabetes continues to increase.
“We’re seeing more children and adolescents show up at our center,” Sheen said. “I used to think our youngest patient was 2 years old, but we just got a referral for a 6-month-old.”
She added that the disease is affecting people at younger ages overall.
“Diabetes is impacting children earlier, and we’re also seeing men in their 30s being severely affected. Most of them with Type 1 and many are having challenges controlling it,” Sheen said.
According to Sheen, obesity remains one of the territory’s major health concerns.
“We have a major problem with obesity in the Virgin Islands. Thirty-eight percent of our population is overweight,” she said. “And if our adults are overweight, that means our children are, too. Being overweight puts us at risk for diabetes.”
“That’s why it’s so important to reach children early to intervene and provide them and their parents with the support they need,” she added. “It’s not only about identifying diabetes early, but also about helping families manage it once it’s diagnosed.”
Dr. Donna Christensen, vice chair of the Diabetes Center’s board, emphasized the importance of prevention and education. “Some forms of diabetes can be prevented or slowed in their development,” Christensen said. “We find that some of it is genetic, so it’s important to reach people early, especially if that trait seems to run in their families.”
Principal Loretta Moorehead of Eulalie Rivera K-8 said she was honored to have her school serve as the first in the territory to host the screenings. “I’m very excited,” Moorehead said. “I want to thank everyone who made it possible for our school to be the first to have this screening done. It’s important for us—and for parents—to know our health status.”
Sheen credited Mary Moorehead for helping bring the initiative to life. A longtime advocate for diabetes prevention, Moorehead said her motivation stemmed from observing rising health insurance costs and the growing impact of diabetes on the community.
“I attended a lot of Government Employees Service Commission meetings that deal with health insurance and noticed the numbers climbing year after year,” she said. “Diabetes was contributing to our rising health insurance costs.”
Mary Moorehead said her family’s experience also inspired her to push for prevention.
“My oldest brother became diabetic later in life,” she said. “He had two kidney operations, but just didn’t have the willpower to control his diet—he loved to eat. That made me realize how important prevention really is.”
She added, “If we can focus on prevention by reaching children early and working with parents to manage it, we can make a real difference. I just hope parents are cooperative, because this is only the first school. The plan is to go through every single school in the territory, and I hope we can have at least 90 percent participation.”
For Sheen, the initiative is not just about testing—it’s about saving lives.
“Honestly, I think every child should be tested regardless, because this is a silent epidemic and it’s not going anywhere,” she said. “The prevalence of diabetes in the Virgin Islands is about 16.9 percent, which means over 14,000 people are living with diabetes. That’s significant.”
