Hello Diabetes Educators,
Some of you may have received this email on February 22nd asking you to join the Virginia Diabetes Council in our efforts to complete our scope of work. We are sending out this notification to let everyone know that the deadline to sign up is this Friday, March 3rd. We need YOUR help in achieving our goals, so don't delay! Our workgroups, Diabetes Prevention and Increasing Capacity for DSME programs, are topics that most of us are passionate about, so please help us improve diabetes and diabetes prevention in Virginia! See below for the original message. Thank you and we look forward to your participation with the Virginia Diabetes Council!
-Susan De Abate (Virginia Coordinating Body Chair), Kathy Gold (Virginia Coordinating Body Advocacy Chair), and Alexa Painter (Virginia Coordinating Body Webmaster)
Dear Diabetes Stakeholder,
As the Board of Directors (BOD) for the Virginia Diabetes Council (VDC), we are writing to invite you and your organization to participate as a key diabetes stakeholder in the activities of the VDC. The VDC is a 501-C3 non-profit organization whose mission is “to bring partners together to identify and promote best practices for diabetes prevention, control, and treatment in Virginia.”
In 2016, a strategic plan for diabetes prevention in Virginia was developed and a statewide engagement meeting of stakeholders interested in diabetes prevention was held in Richmond in September. The Virginia Diabetes Council has agreed to incorporate this plan into its scope of work for 2017 and use this group of interested stakeholders to further the work of building and sustaining diabetes prevention programs in Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Health has provided funding in 2017 for the VDC to carry out this scope of work which includes building and sustaining diabetes prevention programs, increasing awareness and capacity of diabetes education programs, and improving diabetes care and management practices in Virginia. To do this, the BOD is proposing to establish workgroups – namely, a Diabetes Prevention Workgroup and a Diabetes Education Capacity Workgroup. A scope of work for 2017 is also attached to this e-mail (see below) to provide more specific information about the work we intend to initiate and move forward this next year.
We are sending this e-mail communication to our list of past and future stakeholders to determine interest in furthering the work of the council. Please respond to the questions below so we know how best to reorganize interested members to do the work in the most efficient manner this next year.
Are you interested in participating in the work of the VDC in 2017?
_____ YES _____ NO
Which of the following workgroups would you be most interested in participating in 2017?
_____ Diabetes Prevention
_____ Increasing Capacity of Diabetes Self-Management Programs
Would you be interested in a leadership position as Chair or Co-Chair of one of the workgroups listed above? _____ YES _____ NO
Would you be interested in a future leadership position on the Board of Directors?
_____ YES _____ NO
We anticipate that the work to be accomplished will primarily be done in the established workgroups – using a combination of face-to-face meetings, phone conferencing, and e-mails. This will be decided by consensus of the workgroup membership. The chair or co-chairs of the workgroups will report to the BOD to provide regular updates/reports and receive any direction or assistance needed with decision-making.
The request of your reply to the questions above is appreciated by March 3rd. Please send your completed e-mail reply to the VDC Executive Director, Alexa Painter, at ed@virginiadiabetes.org.
Thank you! We look forward to your involvement in completing this exciting work in building and sustaining diabetes prevention and education programs and improving management practices in Virginia! Let’s get started!
Board of Directors:
Kathy Gold, RN, MSN, CDE, FAADE
Chair, Virginia Diabetes Council
Susan DeAbate, RN, MSN/ED, CDE
Co-Chair, Virginia Diabetes Council
Joyce Green Pastors, MS, RD, CDE
Past Chair, Virginia Diabetes Council
Gary Effron, DPM
Treasurer, Virginia Diabetes Council
Jayne Crowther, MSN, RN, CNS, PHCNS-BC, CDE
Secretary, Virginia Diabetes Council