The diabetes self-management education program at CHWC has been awarded recognition from the American Diabetes Association for providing exceptional diabetes education to program participants. CHWC has earned this recognition for the past 12 years.
The goal of CHWC’s outpatient diabetes education program is to empower participants to manage their diabetes successfully by teaching the necessary skills to keep their blood glucose levels in target ranges.
“It is so rewarding to see our patients improve their diabetes management through better knowledge and understanding of diabetes. Some patients have had diabetes for years and it breaks my heart that they weren’t informed about our program earlier in their disease course, before they developed complications. If you have diabetes and have not gone through a diabetes self-management education program, now is the time,” said Andrea Miller, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist/Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist at CHWC.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) states that self-management education is an essential component of diabetes treatment. Participants in recognized programs are taught self-care skills that promote better management of their diabetes treatment regimens. Approved education programs cover the following topics as appropriate: diabetes disease process; nutritional management; physical activity; medications; monitoring; preventing, detecting and treating acute complications; preventing, detecting and treating chronic complications through risk reduction; goal setting and problem solving; psychological adjustment; and preconception care, management during pregnancy and gestational management.
ADA education recognition is a voluntary process that assures approved programs have met the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. ADA-recognized programs have knowledgeable professionals on staff who provide exceptional diabetes management programming to its participants.
“Patient outcomes improve greatly after completion of our outpatient program,” said Tara Spisak, Diabetes Education Program Coordinator and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist/Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist at CHWC. “One way of measuring results of our program is by monitoring A1C reduction—A1C is a three-month average of blood sugar. Data from one year of our program shows 78 percent of participants finish their program with an A1C less than seven percent, which is the ADA standard recommendation for A1C, and we see an average A1C reduction of two percent in our program participants. That’s really remarkable.”
To learn more about the diabetes self-management education program at CHWC, click here.