 |
St. Vincent's Diabetes Education Center
Self Care
The Diabetes Education Center is a self-management education program. This diabetes self-management education program has been awarded recognition by the American Diabetes Association in accordance with the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs.
To meet the National Standards established by the American Diabetes Association, the Diabetes Education Center at St. Vincent's Hospital provides education to promote self care of your diabetes. Comprehensive education includes the following content areas.
- Diabetes Overview.
What diabetes is, how diabetes can be controlled, and how to determine what type of diabetes one has. - Stress and Psychological Adjustment.
Provides coping skills for daily life along with adjusting to life with diabetes. - Family Involvement and Social Support.
Includes importance of family and social support in the day to day life with diabetes. - Nutrition
Discusses the importance of meal planning on blood glucose levels, aids in the selection of appropriate choices and portions of foods. - Exercise and Activity.
Benefits of regular exercise and how to begin or maintain an exercise program. - Medications.
What insulin and/ or diabetes pills do to control blood glucose levels, how to inject or mix insulin, if needed. How other medications may affect blood glucose. - Monitoring and Use of Results.
How and when to test blood glucose levels at home, importance of record keeping of blood glucose values. - Relationships among Nutrition, Exercise, Medication, and Blood Glucose Levels.
How all of these interact and influence one another. - Prevention, Detection, and Treatment of Acute Complications.
How to determine and treat low and high blood glucose levels. How to take care of yourself when you are sick. - Prevention, Detection, and Treatment of Chronic Complications.
What are long term complications of diabetes, what causes them, and how to prevent or reduce risk of developing. - Foot, Skin, and Dental Care.
What and why to care for feet, skin, teeth, and gums. - Behavior Change Strategies, Goal Setting, Risk Factor Reduction, and Problem Solving.
- How to pinpoint specific behaviors to change to aid in blood glucose control.
- Benefits, Risks, and Management Options for Improving Glucose Control.
How to determine options for blood glucose control by weighing benefits and risks of different options. - Preconception Care, Pregnancy, and Gestational Diabetes.
How to become pregnant and have a healthy baby. What is Gestational Diabetes, and how to treat once diagnosed. - Use of Health Care Systems and Community Resources.
What community resources are available and how to access.
Diabetes Education Services:
|
