Regional Diabetes Collaborative Holds Sixth Annual Diabetes Forum: Health Care Leaders Address New Horizons in Diabetes Education and Self-Management

On Friday, April 17, 2009, some 75 physicians, nurses and other health care professionals attended the Sixth Annual Diabetes Forum, hosted by the Regional Diabetes Collaborative (RDC), a program administered by the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust (Health Trust).  The annual gathering was held at the Health Trust’s community conference space in Watsonville to engage local and regional health care leaders in a day-long dialogue to explore such topics as patient-centered approaches to diabetes care, the role of education in chronic disease management, the importance of understanding health literacy in diabetes education, and more.

The keynote speaker for the Diabetes Forum was Alan Glaseroff, MD, Medical Director of the Humboldt/del Norte Independent Physician’s Association, who talked about Humboldt County’s nationally-recognized model for diabetes education in the patient centered medical home.  Dr. Glaseroff also moderated a panel of patients with diabetes from communities throughout the Tri-County area.  They shared their individual stories about dealing with their diabetes diagnosis and gave examples of what worked or didn’t work in care they had received for their diabetes.

In a panel presentations by Diabetes Educators from hospital and community-based diabetes education programs in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties, program directors, nurse educators and dietitians covered topics ranging from insulin injection and nutrition to dealing with financial, cultural and linguistic barriers to diabetes education.

In the afternoon session, Hilary Seligman, MD, MAS, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, discussed the concept of “health promotion counseling” for patients with limited health literacy skills.

Throughout the full-day forum, participants took part in short exercise sessions organized by members of the Regional Diabetes Collaborative to practice what we preach about the importance of physical activity as a key component to a healthy lifestyle.

The event kicked off with a welcome from Health Trust CEO Kathleen King and RDC Chair Leslie Goodfriend, MPH.  Ms. Goodfriend served as the program moderator throughout the day.

The Sixth Annual Diabetes Forum was made possible thanks to the generous grants and sponsorships from the following RDC member organizations:

• Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula
• Dominican Hospital/Catholic Healthcare West
• Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust
• Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System
• Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz/PAMF

The following non-members of the RDC also provided generous grants and sponsorship support:

• The California Healthcare Foundation
• Lilly USA
• Merck Corporation
• Takeda Corporation

About the impact of diabetes on residents of the Central Coast

The RDC is a membership organization of three dozen public and private entities from Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties. This Tri-County collaborative was convened by the Health Trust in 2002 to combat the incidence of diabetes in our region, which is one of the highest in the State:  seven percent of Tri-County residents (55,000 people) now have Type 2 diabetes.  Since 1990, the number has grown by a third.  Public Health officials project a doubling before 2020.

Beyond the physical impact on patients, the cost of diabetes is staggering.  The national cost of diabetes and its complications exceeds $130 billion a year, and that’s rising at least 10% a year. For the Tri-County area it’s close to a half billion.

About the Regional Diabetes Collaborative (RDC)

The RDC is administered by the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust that, since 2002, has united some 35 member-organizations to prevent and manage diabetes in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties. The RDC’s activities include creating partnerships with private, public, governmental and community-based organizations to prevent diabetes in the region; increasing public awareness and diabetes education; promoting best practices in clinical management; and improving the availability, accessibility, and affordability of treatment services, medicines, and equipment for diabetes patients.