On this very important day known as World Diabetes Day, I’m very pleased to announce the expansion of our Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) Staff at Healthcordia to include a past President of the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) as well as several very experienced pediatric and adult Registered Dietitians. I would also like to salute all diabetes educators everywhere. Their job is often difficult, frustrating and sometimes rewarding. I see them as the people on the front lines of this terrible and growing epidemic who every year are becoming more and more outnumbered and with insufficient reinforcements filling their ranks.

In a twist on diabetes technology and diabetes care, two phrases not often mentioned in the same sentence, our CDEs work with patients remotely including access to our ADMS (Automated Diabetes Management System) and use email, chat, phone and even video conferencing to communicate with their patients enrolled in our modernized version of an annual diabetes management program known as HomeCheck-365.

When as a person with diabetes you’re doing all you can do and it’s still not enough, it’s time for a Shout-Out for guidance on nutrition, troubleshooting, etc… Many people with diabetes feel isolated and feel they don’t have anywhere to turn that’s convenient and also with an expert who is in a position to consider their health profile including an accurate history of blood sugar control. Our staff has been working on these programs with patients for many years now and we really believe this is what makes the difference between throwing technology at people vs. walking people through a process including CDEs who happen to access data automatically from patients who use leading edge technology. When you focus on technology by itself or diabetes education in isolation, you’ll come up short every time. However, by blending the two we are able to efficiently drive improved patient outcomes through behavioral change.

This program does not subscribe to the typical disease management approach of making scheduled phone calls to the patient only to run them through a checklist or survey. Rather, a HomeCheck-365 educator working with a technology-enabled HomeCheck-365 patient typically knows why the patient’s calling even before the call.

To borrow from a cliche, ‘If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always gotten’. So on this Diabetes Day of Days, my wish is for more people to truly think past the old ways of doing things and think smarter from the perspective of Outcomes. Stop thinking more technology or more office visits. Start with the end (outcomes) in mind then fill in the gaps with a plan to get there. That’s HomeCheck-365 working with patients in concert with their diabetes physician.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Meaghan Anderson to the blog team at Challenge Diabetes. Meaghan is a Clinical Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Meaghan was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 9 which led to her interest in helping others with diabetes. She is a wife and proud mother of a healthy baby girl.

Meaghan’s Inaugural Blog Post:

Battles at the Dinner Table
My mom always told me to choose my battles wisely and I definitely think this applies to parenting a child with type 1 diabetes. One of the places parents could avoid some arguments would be at the dinner table with a little bit of pre-planning. I have many parents that come in for clinic visits that say they are spending too much time fixing special foods or siblings are mad because the child with diabetes has their own special snacks. In a series of posts this month, I’ll be sharing some tips to help prevent these issues.

Tip #1: Make sure the meal plan is similar to what you were doing pre-diagnosis.

At the time of diagnosis you should have met with a Registered Dietitian to develop your child’s own specific meal plan. Make sure the amount of food the meal plan requires is similar to what was being consumed pre diagnosis. Take into consideration that skipping meals is no longer an option and if your child is overweight, they may have to gradually cut back some on portions.

Here it is! Making great progress on this front lately and thought I would share the good news w/anyone interested in new paradigms of diabetes care including acceleration of the clinical trials process for new cures, new cure therapies and new devices to assist people with tight blood sugar control.

Announcing the SWEETKIDSNETWORK

Check it out online at www.sweetkidsnetwork.org and check back often to see progress announcements and to find out about research trials looking to recruit patients from the Sweet Kids Network.