The Importance of Networking to Our Survival
It was 1994 and I had just moved to the coastal Mid-Atlantic region from West Virginia. I was house-sitting in North East, Maryland and trying to find work in New Castle County Delaware. I had just earned my CDE status, but had been practicing as a clinical dietitian for the prior four years. I was fortunate to have made some solid connections early through the Delaware Chapter of the American Diabetes Association and the Diabetes Education Program at the Wilmington Hospital (now part of the Christiana Care Health System).
While in West Virginia, I started a professional speaking business, so it was easier for me to take on speaking engagements while I looked for clinical work. One of my first gigs was for the Delmarva Area Diabetes Educators (DADE), as it was known at the time. Funny enough, there were few RD/CDEs at the time so my charge that night was to bring RN/CDEs up to speed on the latest nutrition guidelines, as well as the newly released results from the Diabetes Complication and Control Trial (DCCT) study which had been cut short because of the wonderful unexpected results.
Interestingly enough, before we even sat to eat, I was asked to take the leadership role of DADE for the next three years. Though I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to jump into the diabetes community and learn about other colleagues and their Programs, I was still the new kid on the block. I agreed to take on this challenge only if I had a co-lead with me. If you are not aware, the Delmarva area represents Delaware, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and a small tip of Virginia – a lot of territory to represent, especially for someone who does not know their way around, yet.
After three years of working closely with Wynne Aroom, RN/CDE (Peninsula Regional Hospital) to bring several programs a year to its members, with only phone and fax available to us, we decided to disband. Geographical, technical, and member interest (in travelling) challenges were too great to overcome at the time.
Not long after this, the onset of the new century allowed for a fresh start to tackling health challenges left over from the previous century. The Delaware Diabetes Advisory Council was formed to advise Delaware’s legislative body about how to manage diabetes better here in Delaware. As a result of successful testimony new legislation was passed to mandate that if an insurance company was to have a presence in Delaware, that diabetes must be a covered disease state. Yeah! We were now on the map. Not long after that, the Council morphed into what is now called the Delaware Diabetes Coalition – “a non-profit organization which offers support to people affected by diabetes”.
Several years later (2006), another valiant attempt was made by another small group of CDEs to resurrect the DADE networking group. This short-lived effort didn’t have much steam because AADE was not in the mix and networking/promotional issues were more challenging than this small group could overcome without support.
It was not until the summer of 2015 when Barbara Bradley, RN/CDE, working closely with the Delaware Diabetes Coalition to update their Provider Resource Directory, was in a good position to ignite another spark. This time, more technology was available to us – both systemically and via AADE’s support. Additionally, we were encouraged to pair up with the Pennsylvania-Leadership Networking Group (PA-LNG) as a local resource.
It’s funny how things come full circle sometimes. I am pleased to announce that we are newly resurrected as the Delaware Leadership Networking Group (DE-LNG) and completing our first full year with activity. Barbara Bradley, RN/CDE, Cynthia Pajerowski, RN/CDE, Mark Sanford, RN/CDE and I have been organizing and implementing programs this year designed to bring more of our members out. Though I find myself as the Lead again, I am surrounded by a very supportive team, each person taking a different role.
Our first Program in May drew out 22 participants, several who are working toward their CDE status. In September, we hosted our second educational networking event and our third Program is slated for this November. Our focus for next year will be to continue to build a following; to try to plan a Program in each of Delaware’s three counties; and identify a representative from that county who will take the lead to organize and to promote the Program.
More to come…
Respectfully Submitted
Robin Hayes, MS, RD, CDE, LDN
DE-LNG Co-Lead