Children’s of Mississippi’s Diabetes Center recently earned the prestigious American Diabetes Association’s Education Recognition Certificate for a quality diabetes self-management education (DSME) program.
Several DSME programs throughout the state have earned the recognition, but Children’s has the only program in the state specifically geared toward managing both Type I and Type II diabetes in children and youth.
Dr. Naznin Dixit, chief of pediatric endocrinology and diabetes, said the achievement is an important designation for the program.
“It’s an endorsement of the standards of care that we provide,” she said. “And, of course, it assures the family that they will receive high-quality service.”
The ADA awards certificates to programs that meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education. These standards were developed and tested under the auspices of the National Diabetes Advisory Board.
Programs achieving recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals that provides participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management.
“Diabetes is one chronic disease you can self-manage,” Dixit said. “Right from day one of diagnosis, we start educating our patients and families with self-management skills. Eventually, they are empowered to be in control of their diabetes management. They are pretty much in the driver’s seat steering their glucose control.”
Dixit heads a multi-disciplinary team of five board-certified pediatric endocrinologists, a nurse practitioner, a diabetes coordinator/educator, nurses, social workers, dietitians and child-life specialists.
Each month, members of the team hold a Diabetes Education Class. The class covers the nine guidelines set forth by the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support. These standards teach families how to manage the disease and reduce the chance of chronic complications. The interactive class allows families to ask questions and exchange ideas with other parents.
The class is required for all of our newly diagnosed patients, but is also open to patients and their families who want to refresh or continue their diabetes self-management education (DSME).
Dixit noted that one in 400 children have diabetes and she said those numbers are increasing. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, in 2012, Mississippi ranked second in the nation for overall diabetes prevalence, with over 276,000 adult Mississippians having type 2 diabetes (over 12.5% of the adult population).
The Children’s diabetes program follows approximately 2,000 children with both Type I and Type II diabetes.
The ADA reports there are 29.1 million people in the United States who have diabetes. Only 21 million of those have been diagnosed, which means the other 8.1 million people are not aware that they have this disease. Many will first learn that they have diabetes when they are treated for one of its life-threatening complications – heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and nerve disease and amputation. Diabetes contributed to 234,051 adult deaths in 2010, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the US.
For information regarding diabetes classes or the education program, please contact Keisha Luckey, Diabetes Program Coordinator/Educator, at 601-984-5216. https://www.ummchealth.com/ChildrensEndocrinology/
Courtesy of University of Mississippi Medical Center
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