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Currently, inflation is on the rise and it could be getting harder and harder for our patients to be able to afford the tools they need to appropriately manage their diabetes. Gas prices, grocery prices, and prices on everyday necessities are increasing daily while our patient's incomes are not increasing causing burden. Below are some useful tips that educators could share on how to save money and still treat diabetes appropriately: Medications: FREE and discounted medications at Sam's Club (discounted medications with regular membership and some FREE medications with plus membership) https://www.samsclub.com/pharmacy/rxsavingsDiscounted ...
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IMA Greenville is looking to hire an RN CDE for a large, busy multi-specialty practice. Our DSME program is ADA recognized. An RN with experience working in chronic care will be considered. They will be required to obtain CDE credentials in the future. The educator will be responsible for individual pt assessment and pt education, as well as group instruction. The RN will also participate in planning implementing and updating our DSME Program as needed. Effective Communication with physicians and staff is required. The RN will advance to becoming the program coordinator for our DSME Program. A detailed job description and answers to any job questions is ...
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The SC Coordinating Body and Kati England of Insulet sponsored the first (hopefully annual) SC AADE attendee meetup in Houston, Texas on Friday evening. You can see from the pictures we had quite a gathering to be so far away. Personally, I loved being able to meet diabetes care and education specialists (note our new professional title unveiled at the meeting) from around our state and nation. We hope to do that again next year at AADE's annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. We should have an even greater crowd with it being so close. So save the date for 08/14 - 08/17/2020. AADE 2019 was a fantastic meeting filled with many educational and networking opportunities. ...
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Stacie McIntyre, leader of Midlands LNG welcomed members of AADE and also guests from South University and USC Pharmacy programs to the meeting. We had 34 in attendance. - Discussion about the structure of AADE and Local Networking Group (LNG). Information was provided on each table about the Value and Benefits of joining AADE. Each State or Coordinating Body (CB) receives $20 for each AADE member or renewal. That money is allocated to each LNG or region for which that member participates. There are 3 LNG’s in SC (Upstate/Greenville, Midlands/Columbia, Lowcountry/Charleston). - Get involved! It is the time of year to change ...
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The Rewards of Finding Time Sometimes it’s difficult to meet the challenges of our day- to-day job requirements and still find time to plan and execute community events. We often have wonderful ideas and intentions, but when you are part of a small or one-person staff, and resources are scarce or non-existent, even the best of intentions will succumb to the realities of time and energy constraints. In September of last year, I was asked to speak at a local Lions Club breakfast, providing an overview of diabetes prevention and as well as resources and services for those already diagnosed. Unbeknownst to me, the group was so shocked at the data ...
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Prevent Diabetes STAT: South Carolina I just wanted to take a moment to focus on the advocacy efforts that our going on currently in our region. There has been a movement spear-headed by DHEC to promote expansion of the CDC’c National Diabetic Prevention Program. I am excited to report that stake-holders throughout our state including representatives from the government, universities, state programs, the American Medical Association, major health care and community organizations have joined together to form an advisory council to “Prevent Diabetes STAT” in the state of South Carolina. According to the CDC (2015) 86 million people have prediabetes, the ...
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Technology Can Be Sweet: Using Apps to Manage Diabetes Amber Korn and Edana Holliday, PharmD Candidates 2016 Our society has become very dependent on technology and most of us use some form of it in our everyday lives. It should come as no surprise that there are technological advancements, in the form of apps, which can assist in the management of diabetes. Apps are available that can educate, track diabetes care goals, report patient progress, and even send updates to healthcare providers. A sampling of apps is described below. Each of these is FREE and available for both apple and android users. Hopefully this will let you see just how "sweet" ...
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Highlights from AADE15

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AADE 2015 in New Orleans, “Jazz It Up with Innovation and Engagement” was a wonderful way to recharge and network with others around the country. One of the main topics at this conference was about the changing communication landscape, and how CDE’s have the opportunity to feed the internet, mobile devices, and social media with facts and science to improve health. Another hot topic was diabetes prevention and the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Progress is being made all over the United States in program delivery and insurance coverage. I am proud to say that South Carolina is leading the charge in diabetes prevention. We have 2 locations in ...
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On June 15 th & 16 st I joined 48 other diabetes educators in Washington, DC at the AADE Advocacy 2015 Public Policy Forum. Our sessions included one day of training and going to Capitol Hill the next day. The training that we received was great. When we went to Capitol Hill with a mission and they equipped us to present our case with confidence. This was my second visit going to Capitol Hill to meet legislators’ representatives and/or possibly the legislators, which was a little more comfortable this time around. It was great meeting educators from other states and also our AADE leadership team. I also got to meet our AADE President-elect, Hope Warshaw. ...
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I spent last week assisting with the 22 nd annual Camp Porcupine camp for children with diabetes at the Greenwood YMCA. This camp is sponsored by Self Regional and is a great opportunity for children with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to come and learn more about diabetes, meals and carbohydrates, and physical activity. Each year the campers have a great time and enjoy getting to spend time with other children affected by diabetes. As an assistant professor with Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy, I usually take students in their last year of pharmacy school along with me to the camp so they can get hands on experience dealing with and managing Type 1 diabetes ...
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Gridlock!

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Gridlock! As I sit here in gridlock traffic I feel as if this is an analogy to my work in it's current state. I am short an educator, juggling inpatient and outpatient duties at 2 facilities, and working toward advanced disease specific care certification for inpatient diabetes. So alone I feel at times in my quest for excellence! Woe is me! On this day, one of my consults to see a newly diagnosed person with a1c of 6.8% who is 82 years old, another for someone with type 1 admitted with DKA. My young mom of 4 with gdm is late for her outpatient appointment, brings her 16 month old, and is just plain angry. My skills and expertise could surely be utilized ...
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Nearly 4,000 experimental medications are in active clinical trials today. Behind every FDA approved medications are the thousands of patients that volunteer for clinical trials. The clinical trial process is highly regulated, managed by very experienced professionals and has built in safe guards to help protect study volunteers. There are many benefits that the Diabetic patient receives by volunteering for a clinical trial including but not limited to the following: Glucose meter and strips are provided and patient is held accountable to record blood sugars Investigational Product diabetes medication is provided and patient is held accountable for ...
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Earlier this month, I asked members to discuss their decision making and rationale in how they select the various venues for contact hours. This weekend, I stepped outside my usual safety net for continuing education, and traveled to Atlanta for the Cardiometabolic Health Congress (CMHC) Regional Conference Series. The reason for doing so was due to a wake-up call. Around two months ago, I had a patient sitting across the table from me who had recently experienced a double whammy of both an acute MI and the diagnoses of diabetes. Citing his priority of addressing his heart health first and all the resulting cardiology appointments, tests, rehab, ...
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American Association of Diabetes Educators Board Update to Coordinating Bodies/Local Networking Groups February 8, 2015 The American Association of Diabetes Educators Board of Directors met on January 24-25, 2015. This was the first official Board Meeting of 2015 and was preceded by a strategic planning session. A summary of both events is provided below. Strategic Planning The Board met to synthesize the information gathered to help them understand the dynamic changes taking place in the health care environment. This environmental scan is a compilation of work completed over the last six months, including summaries of: A stakeholder forum ...
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Does Advocacy Light Your Fire? I f so, W hy? If not, You Can Learn!! by Jane R. Pinkerton, BSN, RN-CDE In the June 2014 AADE My Network SC Blog article you were encouraged to consider "Advocacy - a Vital Role" for each diabetes educator. The Webster's definition of Advocate remains the same --"one who pleads for another." The article asked you to give voice for the legislation proposed in Congress and supported by AADE. Moving forward our new SC co-leaders for advocacy are Annie Littlejohn, BSN, RN, CDE with Medical Group of the Carolinas and Roxanne Singer-Gheorghiu, MSN, AGNP-C, CDE, CCRC of BG Neurology. These educators ...
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The South Carolina Coordinating Body of AADE is excited to have some new faces along with experienced members on the leadership team this year! Jenelle Martin, SC Coordinating Body Co-Chair Jenelle Martin obtained her BSN from the University of South Carolina and her MSN from the University of Phoenix. She has also obtained certifications in infection control and diabetes education. Jenelle has been a practicing nurse for over 40 years in various fields, i.e., labor and delivery, ambulatory surgery, and infection control, with the last 10 years in inpatient diabetes education and glycemic control. Jenelle was one of the recipients of the ...
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The 27th Annual Diabetes Managment Conference was held on November 6th at the Hilton in Greenville. This year's theme was "Tools for the Trade", and we did not leave disappointed! Up first was Lee Irbe, FNP-BC, CDE who discussed the latest in technology for diabetes treatment. Then we had 2 sessions by Mary Ann Hodorowicz, RD, CDE. Mary Ann brought us hands-on tools for implementing motivational interviewing, as well as for nutrition counseling. Her Keep It Simple approach was well received. Jennifer Clements, PharmD, CDE finished our program with excellent updates on the latest in obesity treatment options, as well as lifestyle advice. ...
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On Tuesday 8/5/14, AADE sponsored a Coordinating Body Networking Reception in Orlando at AADE 14. This reception was a way for members to become familiar with state and local networking groups. It provided a way for members to learn more about local activities and opportunities in everyone’s individual state. Most every state had a table with lots of fun activities and information. Our table was very interactive with a poster, maps, question jar, and scarves for all SC members. This blog takes a closer look at the answers to our questions. I must tell you that we had some very smart CDE’s come by our table! Check out how many states were represented ...
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AADE 14 Memory Book

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AADE 14 in Orlando was exciting and we all learned so much! The road trip on the van was very long, but we all lived through it! AADE sent us a nice care package of snacks, sunglasses, and other treats for our trip. This was much appreciated! The Tuesday night networking reception with the other states CB’s and COI’s was so much fun! It was nice to get to meet other CDE’s. Our table looked wonderful! Our table was very interactive. We had a map of the United States, and everyone colored in their states, as they stopped by to visit. Also, we had questions written on cards shaped like the state and everyone got to answer ...
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In my role as diabetes educator, I have been called upon more frequently in the last five years than in the prior fifteen to assist Spanish speaking patients with their diabetes education. Hispanics now rank third nationally for having the highest rates of diabetes. According to the Provider's Guide to Quality and Culture, there are several beliefs and behaviors within the Spanish speaking population that should be addressed when considering diabetes education. These are the strategies that I have incorporated into my practice to ensure that I am providing education to meet their cultural believes and values: Education needs to occur in a group setting with ...
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