SRMC diabetes education program merits ADA recognition

Sidney Regional Medical Center recently received recognition for its work to combat diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association awarded SRMC with the prestigious Education Recognition Certificate for a quality diabetes self-management education program. SRMC received the award on Dec. 28, 2015.

The SRMC diabetes education program was originally recognized in December 2011. The ADA believes that this program offers high-quality education that is an essential component of effective diabetes treatment.

The ADA’s Education Recognition Certificate assures that educational programs meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. These standards were developed and tested under the auspices of the National Diabetes Advisory Board in 1983 and were revised by the diabetes community in 1994, 2000, 2007 and 2012.

Programs apply for recognition voluntarily. Programs that achieve recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management.

“The process gives providers a national standard by which to measure the quality of services they offer,” said Tammy Meier, RN. “Of course, it assures our patients that he or she will receive the most up-to-date support.”

Education recognition status is verified by an official certificate from ADA and awarded for four years.

Each time a physician determines a patient has diabetes the provider will refer the patient to take diabetes education from the program’s two instructors. The program is broken into three visits including education from a registered nurse as well as a registered dietitian. Working one-on-one with each professional each visit ensures that the patient is armed with information to help them manage their diabetes.

“We continue to support each person even after their education is finished,” said Marci Rosenberg, a registered dietitian at SRMC. “Follow up and appropriate goal setting is the key to each person gaining control of their disease and successfully managing it.”

According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 29.1 million people or 9.3 percent of the population in the United States who have diabetes. While an estimated 21 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately, 8.1 million people are not aware that they have this disease. Each day approximately 4,657 people are diagnosed with diabetes. Many will first learn that they have diabetes when they are treated for one of its life-threatening complications – heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness and nerve disease and amputation.

About 1.7 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2012 in the U.S. Diabetes contributed to 234,051 deaths in 2010, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people of similar age but without diabetes.

The ADA is the nation’s leading nonprofit health organization supporting diabetes research, advocacy and information for health professionals, patients and the public. Founded in 1940, the Association has an area office in every state and conducts programs in communities nationwide.

For more information on recognized education programs in the Cheyenne County area or other American Diabetes Association programs, call the local ADA office or contact the ADA online at http://www.diabetes.org/erp

Contact Evie Parsons at 308-254-5825 or [email protected] for more information.