When a child visits the Albury Wodonga Health paediatric diabetes clinic these days, there's a good chance they'll go home with a new friend - a Barbie doll or teddy bear wearing an insulin pump just like theirs. It comes complete with a tiny cannula, a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) sensor on its arm, and a phone in its bag that "talks" to it.
They're small items. But for children learning to live with type 1 diabetes, they're making a real difference - and they're a simple, powerful example of what community donations to the Albury Wodonga Health Foundation can achieve.
A doll just like them
The idea started small. Bethany Wright, Credentialled Diabetes Educator Paediatric Services, had been trying to get her hands on one of the dolls for over a year to keep in her office and show to kids in clinic.
"They've got a tiny pump that has a little cannula going into the body, and they've got a phone in their handbag that connects to their CGM. They've also got a CGM in their arm," Bethany explains. "Essentially, it's exactly the same as what our patients would have, just in a pretend version."
Once Joanna Owen, Nurse Manager Child & Family Hub Paediatric Services, suggested giving the dolls to children starting on a pump, the team began looking into funding. With support from the Albury Wodonga Health Foundation, they purchased around 15 Barbie dolls and 20 diabetes teddies - enough for the girls and boys under 10 years of age who make up much of the clinic's caseload.
The response has exceeded expectations.
"They love it - they really love it," Bethany says. "A lot of families already knew about the Barbies through Facebook groups but hadn't been able to get one, because they'd been sold out online for months. It's just something nice to add to the clinic - it makes the experience a bit nicer for them."
The dolls aren't just comforting - they're a teaching tool. For a child facing needles, sensors and pumps for the first time, seeing "someone" who looks and manages just like they do can turn a frightening new normal into something familiar and even fun.
The clinical story behind the story
The dolls arrive at a clinic that has quietly become one of the strongest paediatric diabetes services in regional Australia.
Until February 2026, diabetes care for local children was delivered through local private paediatric rooms. This year, the service was redesigned as a publicly accessible, multidisciplinary clinic, bringing together a nurse unit manager, diabetes educators, and paediatricians, with social work support available each week. This model was created to capture the benefits of multidisciplinary care. The clinic is also supported by Albury Wodonga Health equipment, including a point-of-care HbA1c analyser funded through the Good Friday Appeal.
In its first 10 months, this multidisciplinary model has produced a significant improvement in children’s diabetes control, as measured by point-of-care HbA1c testing, alongside very positive feedback from families. The clinic can arrange social work follow-up and hospital admission, when necessary, directly from the appointment, providing more integrated and responsive care for children and their families.
Joanna says the shift has transformed care for local families.
"We're really starting to hit the gold standard of paediatric diabetes management, which is patients being seen four times a year," Joanna says. "We're seeing improvement in their engagement with the service, and improvement in their blood results. In terms of wait lists - we've got none anymore."
The numbers back it up. At the start of the year, roughly 65 per cent of the clinic's patients were using insulin pumps - considered the gold standard for diabetes control. That figure is now around 80 per cent, and the team expects it to reach 95 per cent by year's end. Almost every child in the service now also uses continuous glucose monitoring, giving families real-time insight into their child's blood sugar wherever they are.
"It's pretty amazing considering we're a regional centre with limited resources," Joanna adds. Telehealth reviews are also being rolled out for families living further from Albury Wodonga, so distance is less of a barrier to specialist care.
It's against this backdrop - genuine clinical innovation, delivered by a dedicated local team - that something as simple as a doll takes on real meaning. It's proof that excellent care isn't only about machines and data; it's also about helping a child feel understood.
Why the "little extras" matter
For the Albury Wodonga Health Foundation, the dolls and teddies are exactly the kind of project community donations are designed to support.
"From the Foundation's perspective, this is exactly the kind of support that sits beyond operational funding but can make a meaningful difference to patients and families throughout their healthcare journey," says Anthea Maher, Albury Wodonga Health Foundation Manager. "These resources help normalise diabetes for children, making treatment feel more familiar and less intimidating. They also support education and help children feel understood and less alone."
The Foundation provided a modest initial investment ,of approximately $1,500 - but the impact on the children and families who received one has been significant. It's a reminder that donations of any size can translate directly into something a local child holds in their hands.
"Additional donations to the Albury Wodonga Health Foundation allow us to continue funding thoughtful, patient-focused resources like these - the items that go above and beyond core clinical care and improve the experience of patients and their families," Anthea says.
How you can help
The team hopes to expand the program further - including finding suitable resources for adolescent patients, an age group currently missing out.
If you'd like to help fund more projects like this one, you can donate to the Albury Wodonga Health Foundation and simply note "Paediatric Diabetes Support" in the designated area.
It's a small gesture that can make a big difference to a child learning to live confidently with diabetes.
Donation link / awh.foundation@awh.org.au