Diabetes: Full Spectrum
Approximately 230 Diabetes Educators and Providers gathered in Harrisburg for the 5th Annual Diabetes Education Conference precisely executed by Cheryl Marco. The day and half conference was a huge success beginning with a Pre-conference program led by Mary Ann Hodorowicz review DSMT getting the most out of your practice and how to effectively implement the 2016 MNT Evidence Based Practice Guidelines for Diabetes. Her presentation laid out Effective Strategies to Sustain DSME--MNT utilizing the
S.U.S.T.A.I.N.A.B.I.L.I.T.I.E.S.P.L.A.N.
Friday began with a message from Linda Siminerio, Expanding the role of the diabetes educator: New opportunities in 2016- emphasizing the direction and sustainability of Diabetes Educator. There are many issues to consider over the next year: evolving governmental involvement in healthcare, the educational requirements and costs for our future Diabetes Educators as well as our expanding roles, the move toward sustainable food sources, to name but a few. This presentation set stage for the rest of the day of learning about Diabetes Care Through the Full Spectrum beginning with Carol Homko’s presentation Infant of the Diabetic Mother: Neonatal & Long Term Care Outcomes. She discussed the impact of maternal glucose control on fetal outcomes in the pregnant woman with diabetes. She helped us better understand the importance of glucose control both before and during pregnancy.
Marilyn Clougherty, Caring for Children with Type 1 Diabetes - took us through the care of children with Type 1 Diabetes. She helped us understand the role of the diabetes educator in the adolescents’ transition to adult care. Her passion and her strategies to help us meet the charge for improving the care of children with Type 1 Diabetes was inspirational. Patricia Davidson, The Clock is Ticking: The Need for Early Intervention and Treatment of T2DM in Children and Adolescence picked up where Carol left off discussing the importance of early screening and diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes in Youth. It’s a scary issue and without early intervention there is concern that we will see epidemic proportions of diabetes related comorbid conditions such as cardiovascular and renal disease. She introduced an early screening acronym and the importance of diabetes educators to lead the charge in the prevention of Type 2 Diabetes in Youth.
The day ended with a presentation by Linda Gottfredson and Kathy Stroh, Cognitive and Functional Burdens of Diabetes for Older Adults – stressing the importance of educators acquiring the skills better help our aging population. Their presentation ended the day nicely discussing the trends of diabetes by age and how it relates to cognitive and functional decline. The key message to us as educators is how the cognitive decline can increase the burden of diabetes self-management and lead to life threatening errors.
Thank you to all involved in the planning and implementation of this fantastic day of learning and enhancing our skills.
Patricia Davidson
Chair PA AADE CB
How Can You Help?
The PA AADE Coordinating body has many seasoned members who have contributed to our organization and bring with them a wide variety of attributes and experiences. I would like to thank all those members who have agreed to continue to serve and those who will be joining the PA Coordinating body for the first time. For those of you interested in serving or becoming a part of the leadership team, I encourage you to please contact me at pdavidson@wcupa.edu. I know that our organization could benefit from the skills that many of our members have to offer.
There are a number of ways to become involved – to get started, sign in at www.diabeteseducator.org. Here you can meet with your local networking group (LNG), your state CB, and your community of interest (COI) at no additional costs. Take some time and investigate the website – you will be glad you did.
Patricia Davidson
Chair PA AADE CB