Mercy Outpatient Diabetes Education program receives continued recognition from the American Diabetes Association

Monday, January 15, 2018

Tags: Mercy Medical Center , health care

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Mercy Medical Center’s Outpatient Diabetes Education program has been awarded continued recognition from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for offering high-quality education services to the patients it serves.

The ADA Education Recognition effort, begun in the fall of 1986, is a voluntary process that assures approved education programs have met the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. Programs that achieve this status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide state-of-the-art information about diabetes management for patients.

Self-management education is an essential component of diabetes treatment. Compliance with the ADA’s national standards ensures a greater consistency in the quality and quantity of education offered to people with diabetes. Patients in an ADA recognized program will be taught, as needed, self-care skills that will promote better management of his or her diabetes treatment regimen. All approved programs (including Mercy’s Outpatient Diabetes Education) cover the following topics as needed: diabetes disease process; nutritional management; physical activity; medications; monitoring; preventing, detecting and treating acute complications; preventing, detecting and treating chronic complications through risk reduction; goal setting and problem solving; psychological adjustment as well as preconception care, management during pregnancy and gestational management.

Assuring high-quality education for patient self-care if one of the primary goals of the Education Recognition program. Through the support of Mercy’s Outpatient Diabetes Education team and increased knowledge and awareness of diabetes, patients can assume a major part of the responsibility for their diabetes management. Self-management education can help reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and some of the acute and chronic complications of diabetes.

“The ADA’s Education Recognition process gives professionals a national standard by which to measure the quality of the services they provide,” commented Nicole Selinsky, RD, LD, CLC, Mercy Outpatient Diabetes Education coordinator. “And, of course, it helps our patients and our community identify these quality programs.”

To learn more about Mercy’s Outpatient Diabetes Education program, call 330-489-1484, e-mail diabetes_education@cantonmercy.org or visit cantonmercy.org/diabetes.