Diabetes getting you down? Class offers answers close to home

ANTIOCH – The farther outside of metropolitan areas people live the harder it can be for them to access healthcare services, in large part due to the time and money it takes to travel outside of the community for care. Diabetes education is no exception.

Now, people with diabetes can access the most up-to-date and accurate diabetes education without leaving the area. Recently, Sutter Delta Medical Center’s Outpatient Diabetes Center achieved accreditation by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE), joining other affiliated hospitals within the Sutter Health integrated network of care.

Shahla Cano, R.D., a registered dietician, certified diabetes educator and board certified advance diabetes manager says the accreditation is important because, “We want to make sure our patients don’t have to travel for diabetes education. Forty-five to 50 percent of patients here in Eastern Contra Costa County have diabetes—and those are only the ones who know about it. Unfortunately, there are not that many resources available to a population that is so critically impacted.”

Sutter Delta’s accreditation by AADE means that the program operates based on evidence-based guidelines, offers approved educational materials, and the educators are accredited.

Cano says that all too often people don’t realize the dire consequences of unmanaged diabetes. More than that, people with Type 2 diabetes can easily fall into a “shame and blame” trap and end up feeling guilty, which impacts their motivation to seek care. She wants to see more people in the community get educated on what she calls the “basics of diabetes management.”

“It’s about the little things: taking the proper medications, taking care of your eyes and feet, and seeing your doctor,” she says.

Effective diabetes management is a team effort. It requires patient participation, effective education and communication with clinicians. Physicians don’t have the time to spend hours with individual patients, which is why Cano says resources like the Outpatient Diabetes Center are critical.

Sutter Delta’s accreditation is important for several reasons according to Cano. “The accreditation is recognized by the physicians. We have to follow certain standards. And it pushes us to follow evidence-based care. What we say to people carries a lot of weight, and if the information you give isn’t evidence-based, it could cause major harm. What I teach my patients is not something I am making up—it is based on years of research.”

Cano is proud of the accreditation because it helps Sutter Delta better serve the local community by providing easier access to diabetes education. “Diabetes education is a challenge, but we have to try because one person could make the difference. I want to give it everything I have because it could make a difference in one person’s life.”

Cano has a wealth of information she’s eager to share with members of the community living with diabetes, from diabetes management tips to information about glucose monitoring devices that may be covered by insurance.

The free Living Well with Diabetes Class is held once a month from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Sutter Delta Medical Center Education Center at 3901 Lone Tree Way in Antioch. The class covers:

  • Weight management
  • Stress reduction
  • Blood sugar control
  • Complication reduction

The class also includes a $5 lunch voucher for the hospital’s cafeteria.

Those who would like the schedule or are interested in registering can call the center at (925) 779-3605.

 


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