 ALMH has scheduled two sessions
of the class in early 2012. The state of Illinois passed a law that
requires insurance companies to cover the cost of Diabetes Self
Management Education beginning Jan. 1.
"The state is promoting
healthy behaviors and endorsing the effectiveness of DSME, which
uses a curriculum approved by the American Diabetes Association,"
said Jennifer DiPasquale, a licensed registered dietitian and
certified diabetes educator. "Group education works."
Called the U.S. Diabetes
Conversation Map program, the DSME class will be guided by
participants in an interactive setting. The program was developed by
Healthy Interactions Inc., a global leader in health education, in
collaboration with the American Diabetes Association.
It has been taught at ALMH
since 2009 by DiPasquale. The first session of four classes in 2012
begins Jan. 12, meeting 2-4 p.m. in the Baldridge Education Room at
ALMH. The second session will begin March 8.
"It's always patient-centered,
promoting what the group feels is important," DiPasquale said. "This
conversation-driven method leads participants to get more involved
in creating a plan to improve their health, and it's driven by the
belief that people learn by being engaged -- hearing, seeing,
exploring, discussing and doing."
There are five different
Conversation Map tools included in the program:
1. On the Road to Better
Managing Your Diabetes covers many of the basic concepts one
needs to know about managing diabetes.
2. Diabetes and Healthy
Eating engages participants in a detailed discussion about
the connection between food and diabetes and the importance of
healthy eating in managing diabetes.
3. Monitoring Your Blood
Glucose engages patients in a discussion about the
importance of monitoring blood glucose, managing high and low
blood glucose, and how to use the results from monitoring to
better manage diabetes.
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4. Continuing Your
Journey with Diabetes focuses on complex concepts related to
diabetes, including the natural course of diabetes, the medicine
options that exist, what insulin is and how it works, long-term
complications associated with diabetes, and the key ABCs -- A1C,
blood pressure and cholesterol.
5. Caring for Gestational
Diabetes engages participants in a discussion about the
feelings and emotions that can come with being pregnant and
having gestational diabetes, the risks associated with and how
to care for gestational diabetes, and what one might expect
after pregnancy.
Because of the program's
structure, a limited number of participants can enroll for each
session. To participate, you must fill out registration and needs
assessment forms. A physician's order is also required. To inquire
or request the forms, contact DiPasquale by email (preferred) at
diabetes@almh.org
or by calling 217-605-5535.
[Text from file received from
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital]
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