diabetes education

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Educating Others About Type 1

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Here we are toward the end of November - wrapping up Diabetes Awareness Month! There has been so much going on in the diabetes community, and there is always so much to learn. In this post, we are going to focus on Type 1 diabetes (T1D), and share some resources from Beyond Type 1. Here is some of their widsom: "A big part of spreading awareness is educating others about what Type 1 diabetes is and isn’t. Education is key to dispelling ignorance around the chronic illness and continuing advocacy for those living with it.”

So let's get learning and gather some tools that we can share with our friends and loved ones. One thing I love about the materials from Beyond Type 1 is that they are so well-written, visually awesome, and easy to understand.

What Is Type 1 Diabetes?

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Warning Signs of Type 1 Diabetes

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Healthy Living specializes in diabetes, and our team is well-prepared to provide compassionate, knowledgeable care to the Type 1 diabetes community!

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Grunberger Patient Appreciation Day a Great Success

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Despite the weather (pouring rain all day!), the Grunberger Diabetes Institute’s Patient Appreciation Day on Saturday, August 25 had an awesome turnout! Over 100 patients attended the event outside Dr. Grunberger’s office -- a fun, educational opportunity to understand what resources are available for diabetes care. Jennifer from Healthy Living Medical Supply attended the event, along with many of our manufacturer partners representing CGM and insulin pump solutions. The Grunberger Diabetes Institute also served food and sponsored a raffle for patients and guests.

Dr. George Grunberger is internationally renowned for his work with people with diabetes. His office is located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and offers cutting-edge diabetes and endocrine problems management, one-stop service for comprehensive care, a multidisciplinary team, and participation in research studies. Learn more about the Grunberger Diabetes Institute and check out their blog.

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Healthy Living Salutes Diabetes Educators

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The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) annual conference just passed in Baltimore, Maryland. Healthy Living was there to meet diabetes educators and product manufacturers and to simply learn. Educators are in the trenches with patients and their families, teaching them the skills to be successful and guiding them in the various technologies and tools used to manage the disease.

Six diabetes educators were honored for their achievements and contributions in the field of diabetes education at the AADE conference:

  • Diabetes Educator of the Year Award - Jane K. Dickinson, RN, PhD, CDE

  • Lifetime Achievement Award - Keith Campbell, RPh, FASHP, CDE, FAAD (posthumous award)

  • Allene Van Son Distinguished Service Award - Malinda Peeples, RN, MS, CDE, FAADE

  • 2018 Strategic Initiative Award – Jasmine Gonzalvo, PharmD, BCPS, BC-ADM, CDE, LDE, FAADE

  • Rising Star Awards - Melanie L. Duran, RN, BSN, CDE and Clipper F. Young, PharmD, MPH, BC-ADM, CDE

We support the work of diabetes educators on a daily basis by providing them with meter kits to use for new Healthy Living patients in the clinic during training. Healthy Living also reinforces the teaching of diabetes educators by making sure our patients receive refills for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) supplies, insulin pump supplies, and testing supplies on time, every 30 or 90 days (depending on the patient’s insurance plan).

What it comes down to is that patients can have the best technology in the world, but if they don’t have education, they won’t be able to take full advantage of an insulin pump or CGM system. Read the article New Diabetes Technology Options Can Ease Disease Management, but Education Key for more information about this. Diabetes educators are absolutely essential to the well-being and successful treatment plans of people with diabetes.

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What We’re Reading: Facing Diabetes on Her Own Terms…from the HAP Blog

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We have been checking out the HAP Balanced Living blog and recently found this awesome article – Facing Diabetes on Her Own Terms: How One Woman Took Control of Her Life. This article is about Shannon, a woman diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, who found a way to manage her disease without medication, through motivation and focus.

Shannon had a family history of diabetes, so when she was diagnosed, she regarded the situation very seriously. She knew that she needed to make changes, and when she had a physically adverse reaction to metformin (a drug used to control blood sugar), she became determined to find an alternative to medication. To learn more about managing diabetes, Shannon took hospital-based classes for people recently diagnosed with the condition. Then, she also joined the diabetes prevention program at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital which provided great support and education.

Shannon also dove into exercise and improved her dietary choices. She started her exercise routine slowly to work around previous injuries, but she kept going. To adjust her diet, she looked at serving sizes and nutrition information about what she was eating. “The changes needed to battle diabetes can be overwhelming if you try to make them all at once,” Shannon explained, “Don’t be so strict that you set yourself up for failure.”

Healthy Living Medical Supply is in network with Health Alliance Plan of Michigan for diabetes testing supplies, insulin pumps, insulin pump supplies, and continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGM). If you are a Health Alliance Plan of Michigan member and are looking for diabetes-related supplies delivered to your doorstep with great customer care, give us a call at 866.779.8512 or send us a text message at 248.577.9903 to start the easy enrollment process.

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Advanced Insulin Pump Workshop Offers Great New Insights

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A few weeks ago, when Healthy Living attended the JDRF TypeOneNation Summit in Belleville, our team members chose different breakout sessions to attend. We all learned a lot, and I want to take some time to pool our knowledge and share it with you!

Our Insulin Pump & CGM Therapy team attended a workshop that went in depth on insulin pump therapy, presented by Dr. Lowell Schmeltz. Here are some of the things that Crystal and George learned from the course.

Advanced Features Improve Results

Insulin pumps include many advanced features and functions that patients searching for tighter control of their diabetes can utilize. These optional features can make pumping more complicated, but if used correctly can greatly improve the results of pump therapy.  One example is that some pumps offer is a dual-wave bolus, which contains a normal bolus as well as a second wave of insulin that is delivered over time. This is especially beneficial when eating foods that are high in fat and carbs, like pizza.

Insulin Pump Therapy Requires Focus

Pump users and caregivers need to remember a lot of information and continually go through a number of steps to maintain control with their insulin pumps. Dr. Schmeltz explained that the biggest issue that comes up for individuals using the pump goes back to the basics – entering their carbs for meals. He believes that people should read packages and measure their food for accurate carb counting (instead of estimates and guesses).

Simplifying for Encouragement

Dr. Schmeltz really engaged with attendees and had a great way of simplifying complicated concepts to make pump users feel comfortable with the idea of trying new things. One more of his recommendations was for patients to download their pump data between physician visits so their doctor can review their status at appointment time and make any necessary changes to their regimen.

We also were excited to learn about some of the new pump technology that is being tested, including the artificial pancreas. This new technology is much closer to being available to patients than many of us realized!

 

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Keep Learning - A Visual Guide to Type 2 Diabetes

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Sometimes conditions like Type 2 Diabetes can be hard to understand, and hard to explain to others. WebMD offers a great overview of Type 2 Diabetes in Slideshow: A Visual Guide to Type 2 Diabetes.

Go at your own pace to learn about Type 2 Diabetes, or use this slideshow as a tool to educate your friends and family members. The presentation has interesting and clear images and photos, and simple, easy-to-understand descriptions and explanations. Its value is in its simplicity and clean presentation.

The slideshow teaches about these areas of Type 2 Diabetes:

·        Prevention

·        Symptoms

·        Diagnosis

·        Treatment

·        Details of the condition

·        Risk factors

·        Long-term effects

Keep learning and empowering yourself with knowledge about diabetes!

Meter Kits Smooth the Transition to Testing for New Patients

Advocate, Bayer Contour Next, and True Metrix test kits.

Advocate, Bayer Contour Next, and True Metrix test kits.

Keeping Patients Supplied

For new patients, once diagnosed with diabetes and beginning education, it is a critical time to start testing blood sugar to inform their insulin dosing, food choices, and activity. As a home delivery diabetes supply company and pharmacy, we know that the time lag in the shipment of supplies can be complicated in this situation. Healthy Living has created some solutions to help patients begin to manage their diabetes as quickly as possible. One way we do this by providing nurses and diabetes educators at many Michigan clinics with meter kits to give to new patients.

Getting Started with Blood Glucose Testing

Healthy Living supplies meter kits from a few different manufacturers to each clinic, and every kit includes a blood glucose meter, lancets, and test strips. The type of meter kit that a patient receives is based on the individual’s health insurance coverage. For example, Meridian covers Advocate test strips, so Meridian patients get an Advocate meter test kit (they will continue to use the meter and will only have to reorder test strips and lancets).

No worries if you don't have meter kits on hand in your clinic. We can provide expedited shipping so the first order gets to your patient's home fast, usually within a day. All you need to do is contact Healthy Living and we'll ensure your patient receives supplies in short order. 

Right on Track

When patients are given a new meter kit and learn how to test their blood glucose levels, they also call Healthy Living to enroll and place their first order for the test strips they will need going forward. They'll receive their supplies at home by the time they run out of sample test strips.

Diabetes educators and nurses, when providing a meter kit to a member, we would appreciate it if you could take five minutes to have the patient either text or call us to enroll for home delivery. This process is fast and ensures that members receive their order in a timely manner so they have supplies in-hand before they run out of the test strips in their meter kits. 

With this collaborative process in place, new patients with diabetes can start testing right away, and from the get-go, Healthy Living can help patients stay on track with their treatment plans.