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June 24, 2009 It is not new by any means. It has been around for about four years. Dr. Julia Sherman DN, rPhT, AHMA and DE has been going to where the people are and teaching diabetes education is author and developer of the self management handbook Factoring Diabetes now going into hard print for mass public, decided to join a variety of government education programs to get the word out. But getting an office and having pateints referred to an office was becoming a problem. One problem was the variety of misinformation, made up information and lack of information that so many in her local were being fed, literally. The common diet is still no bread and no sugar and that is by all sorts of doctors around here. I was really lucky to have great care at Baptist Hospital, real information, real facts, real help. What prompted Julia to go into diabetes education was a sort of thank you to her Diabetes Educator. " Mary was wonderful. No question was dumb, no comment, everything step by step. I felt like how can I repay her and the surgeon and the nurses and the nutritionist, everyone over there who cared for me and made me whole. Go into diabetes education." So already a DN and working on a pharmacy tech certification she decided to see what there was. " The CDEs are all registered nurses or MDS. That is not fare really. So many of us who have extensive health and nutrition background and continue to study and take classes and focus in diabetes are an excluded group. With the amount of people out there and not enough diabetes educators to deal with it all, why not allow those with alternative medical backgrounds join in and become certified? I take 12 hours a year of AMA level CMEs and CEUS not to mention other provided by the pharmaceutical companies, participate in clinical studies etc so I know what is out there" A professional standard that is her own choosing. So being not able to become certified didn’t deter her. She contacted the NIH and they got her in touch with the NDEP. From there information and working with the local ADA to start a local support group and onto her book lead her to, Mobile Diabetes Care through her practice Pointe Diabetes Center. " The idea was to get to where the people are. I had an office. No one came. Simply put it was out of the way and it was not handicap accessible. I decided go to the people. I looked at all the insurance companies web sites and many have providers that go to offices and places and teach group classes. There was however a downside. Many companies were and are pushing diabetes informatics and recognition in the workplace to a back burner. It seems like we are a lost chronic illness that affects billions worldwide! Imagine that." So sitting down with her we got the scoop on Mobile diabetes education. The idea is simple. Go to the people and they will be more comfortable and be able to ask in a quiet setting. Its based on how much time they can afford to take from their day. In a typical day its more impromptu gatherings at Wal-Mart, grocery stores, parking lots, libraries, people on the phone, county and regional fairs FCE meetings etc. " I fill the truck with goody bags. People love goody bags. It has samples, a copy of ADA guides, magazines, if I can get them free new glucose meters, and other stuff that makes it fun. I partner with Go Red, Heart Association, Kidney foundation etc. they provide me with information and goodies and I pass them on. But I don’t just hand them a goody bag and go on. There are specific things in there that are tools and need to know’s. So samples of say Splenda we use in cooking and actually cook or make something with that sample. Samples of foot cream we use in instructing foot checks, if we are lucky enough to get exercise music CDs, now that we have an IFA fitness trainer, we use that customize a workout. A small workout is better than no workout and any fifteen minutes is better than zero minutes. Every little step is a big improvement. Anything that can be used immediately for instructing we use. By doing this at home also has another advantage. Real food, real food labels in real time. Using what people already have in their cabinets and freezers can give them a better understanding than sitting in a classroom and only retaining about 50 percent of what is being told in a short time. So by going through their boxes and seeing what portion sizes are using their at home utensils can give immediate control. "And its fun because if they don’t mind we get to cook!" One thing is that many people don’t grasp grocery shopping and cooking. You can explain to people about portion size but until they see it in their won plate it has no meaning. The average cost for a Mobile visit is 75 dollars for an hour for class and personal time. Half of what a single hospital class is. For a month 250 dollars and that s for a visit or two a week. But it is not only cooking and developing exercise that makes this service so unique. They reach those who feel they are not in the same level as those who got to hospital classes. Many people with diabetes go through diabetic depression. They have all these things going through their heads and no one to turn to no one to listen to them. " We reach those who are not as well educated, those who are home bound, we provide an ear, laughter, company and help from a diabetic and lay educators who deal with diabetes in their lives daily but most of all we provide hope.
Pointe Diabetes Center Mobile Unit can be reached through http://www.mydiabeteseducator.org/jsherman1
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