Addressing one of the most pressing public health concerns facing Long Island and the nation, Catholic Health Services of Long Island (CHS) and Mercy Medical Center are expanding diabetes education services.
CHS has received a grant from the New York State Health Foundation to expand its diabetes education services in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The $153,743 award will help reach people across Long Island, where more than 16 percent of hospitalizations are attributed to diabetes. An exemplary outpatient program at CHS’s St. Joseph Hospital, located in Bethpage, will be replicated at several locations in Nassau and Suffolk counties, offering residents more immediate access to lifesaving self-care knowledge.
“We are confident our education is effective,” said CHS’s Director of Diabetes Services and Certified Diabetes Educator Lucille Hughes. “We record our patients’ weight and blood sugar level, at no cost, at the beginning of the program and then again when they return three months later. Education must be measured to prove effectiveness.”
One class participant, who needed a considerable amount of insulin daily and had a high blood glucose level, reduced both by nearly 50 percent in one week. Another individual completed the 10-hour program after years of having lived with diabetes. When he returned in three months for his free follow-up visit, he had lost almost 60 pounds and had a dramatically improved blood sugar level.
A past president of the Metropolitan New York Association of Diabetes Education, Hughes oversees St. Joseph’s Diabetes Education Center, whose evidence-based curriculum covers stress management, self-monitoring of blood glucose, meal planning and other key areas. By offering this program in communities in both counties, CHS expects to be able to reach more than 5,000 people with diabetes annually, enabling them to reduce their risk for heart attack, stroke and other life-threatening conditions.
In time, the success achieved at St. Joseph will benefit more and more Long Islanders. In addition to those outpatient services, Hughes and her fellow certified diabetes educators are committed to assisting patients at every point along the continuum of care. With the support of CHS’s leadership, professional diabetes education programs are offered to caregivers throughout the multihospital system, with nurses, dietitians and pharmacists participating.
Mercy Medical Center is also offering diabetes education, with spring and summer sessions of its outpatient Diabetes Self-Management Training Program.
The four-session programs will be conducted in May, June and July. Each begins with an hour-long individual assessment for each participant, followed by three weekly group workshops. Group sessions will be conducted in May on Thursday evenings from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., in June on Tuesday afternoons from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. and in July on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Each participant will also receive a group follow-up session approximately six weeks after the program ends.
Conducted by instructors credentialed by the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators, the program provides participants with the skills required for day-to-day management of diabetes and strategies for people living with diabetes to maintain and maximize life activities.
Those who can benefit from the program, usually covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance, include individuals recently diagnosed with diabetes and those living with it, along with those who recently started or changed medications, those having difficulty controlling blood sugar, and those who have experienced serious consequences of diabetes such as vision or foot problems, ulcers, amputations, kidney conditions or hospitalization.
The program is most often covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance.
