Education for Diabetes Patients

By George Nianiatus, senior writer
Communications Department

Pastor Brad Preston of the Sawyer Evangelical Church in Bradford could no longer ignore his symptoms of extreme exhaustion. When too tired to stand, he simply had to give sermons from a bench.

It was nearly two years ago when the pastor was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which requires daily insulin to control his blood-glucose level.

In fact, Pastor Preston has an insulin pump which dispenses his insulin throughout the day, depending on varying needs. But he learned how to properly operate the insulin pump, input data so it could calculate when to administer the next dosage and better manage his diet and nutrition through vital education from the Center for Diabetes & Nutrition Education at 222 W. Washington St., which is a department of Bradford Regional Medical Center.

“I couldn’t function with this pump or this disease unless I got
the help I did from the Center for Diabetes,” Pastor Preston admits.

“Every person diagnosed with diabetes is eligible annually for two hours of education with a diabetes educator and another two hours with a dietitian,” says Stacia Nolder, RN, CDE, CPT, program coordinator of the Center for Diabetes.

“Too often, people don’t realize they can take advantage of this education,” Mrs. Nolder says, noting Nov. 2-8 is National Diabetes Education Week. This week promotes the benefits of diabetes self-management training and the role of diabetes educators as healthcare providers.

Last year 202 people were referred by physicians to the Center for Diabetes for diabetes education. “Of those, 192 attended,” she notes.

“But more people could clearly benefit by attending,” the program coordinator states.

“Being diagnosed with diabetes is a life-changing condition and the staff at the Center for Diabetes has the ability to devote time to those who need to be educated,” Pastor Preston says. “I come here every three months to talk with the staff.”

Diabetes educators show how people can evaluate their daily routines and “also enlighten them on a healthier lifestyle,” Mrs. Nolder says. “They educate on the standards of care to reduce risk of complications.”

Cindy Simms, RN, a diabetes educator at the center, says, “We explain what diabetes is and discuss treatment which includes exercise, meal planning and medications.”

Additionally, “We also show people how to self-monitor their diabetes and we can provide (glucose) meters to people if they don’t have them,” Mrs. Simms says.

Meanwhile, dietitians at the center will focus on better eating habits, particularly if someone diagnosed with diabetes is experiencing weight fluctuations.

“People will learn the goals for healthy eating. Also, they will understand how to use carb counting to plan meals and help manage blood-glucose levels,” Mrs. Simms notes.

“People can benefit from continuing annual visits to the Center for Diabetes because diabetes is a progressive disease. Their treatments can change as time passes,” Mrs. Simms notes.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. This is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes is unknown, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles, according to the American Diabetes Association.

The Center for Diabetes offers consults to those with diabetes of any age, including children. However, they must be referred by a physician.

Also, most insurance pays for educational consults from the center.

Gregory Ambuske, D.O., is the medical director.

There are an estimated 23.6 million children and adults in the U.S., or 7.8 percent of the population, who have diabetes. While 17.9 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, another 5.7 million people are unaware they have the disease, the association says.

The Center for Diabetes provides diabetes self-management training, insulin pump education, medication training and medical nutrition therapy. The program is staffed with nurses and dietitians. For more information, call the Center for Diabetes at 814-362-8717. The program is accredited by the American Diabetes Association.


(In the photo, courtesy of BRMC, Cindy Simms, RN, a diabetes educator at BRMC’s Center for Diabetes & Nutrition Education at 222 W. Washington St. in Bradford, talks to Pastor Brad Preston about meal planning.)