We are all aware that the Month of November is the month that we focus a little more on our patients living with diabetes, and most of us increase our outreach efforts a little more this month. I want to share our hospital’s outreach efforts.
Clarion Hospital is a very small rural hospital facility located in Clarion County, PA. Our landscape is rich with farmland and small towns and communities. We have tried to continually improve our Diabetes Care each year enhancing our efforts from the previous year.
This year it started early in the morning on November 2nd, from 6 AM – 10AM. Our hospital organizes a Multiphasic Screening Event that is sponsored by the Clarion County Rotary. This event is held on Saturday so many in the community can participate. We had 263 individuals participate. The cost is $55.00 for a standard screening with the option to add on additional tests; one of which is the HgbA1c. Our department was represented, and we marketed our Pre Diabetes and Diabetes programs and services and were available to talk 1:1 with anyone interested in additional information. As a result of participating in this screening event, we have increased referrals to our programs.
On 11-6 we hosted our Diabetic Support Group. This month the dietitian provided information on holiday eating and made a delicious snack of pecans with cinnamon and monk fruit. What a wonderful treat! We have found that our patients really look forward to support groups as this helps them continue to grow in their knowledge of diabetes management as well as staying connected with friends from the classes.
On 11-14 we hosted our Annual Diabetes Health Fair. This event is almost always held on World Diabetes Day and we use this day to highlight the “Amazing” people living with diabetes as well as the services and agencies that are available to manage diabetes. This is a free health fair and this year we were fortunate to have Dr Emily Martin, Endocrinologist from Butler Hospital, present “Diabetes Trends and Technology”. We also had Dr Seth Babington from our Outpatient Rehab Department highlight community resources we have available to assist people living with diabetes.
We had 33 Vendors which included national companies including Insulet, Medtronic, Dexcom, Novo Nordisk, Xeris as well as the local Blind Association who offered free vision screenings. The local BSN program did blood pressures checks, a home care agency provided free glucose screening and weights. Also participating were our inpatient and outpatient departments, our Clarion Hospital Pharmacy and Residency Programs. There was a “Chef Display” with a balanced meal that the patients can eat for free. We had a surprise visit by our State Representative, Donna Oberlander, as well. It’s exciting to see all the patients and community members that this event reaches. Approximately 80 people attended this year.
To wrap up the month we provided our regular services and DSMET classes that ran from 11-18 through 11-21.
I feel truly blessed that my life has this direction and I can facilitate the learning for patients living with diabetes. I would love to hear how each of you celebrated diabetes awareness month this November.