If you’re diabetic and looking to lead a healthier lifestyle, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital is offering a popular class that is covered by insurance. There are two sessions available. Each session includes four, two-hour classes.
“The state is promoting healthy behaviors and endorsing the effectiveness of Diabetes Self Management Education or 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 begins February 26, meeting 6pm-8:15pm in the Baldridge Education Room at ALMH and will meet on Wednesday evenings until April 9. The second session will begin March 12, meeting from 2pm – 4:15pm on Wednesday afternoons until April 23.
“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 four major content areas in the program:
1. On the Road to Better Managing Your Diabetes covers many of the basic concepts one needs to know as it relates to 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 to 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.
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 ABC's (A1C, blood pressure, cholesterol).
Because of the program’s structure, a limited number of participants can enroll for each session.
To participate, a specific Diabetes Self Management Education physician’s order is required and you must fill out registration and needs assessment forms. To inquire or request the forms, contact DiPasquale by email (preferred) at diabetes@almh.org or by calling 217-605-5535.
ALMH is a 25-bed critical access hospital located at 200 Stahlhut Drive in Lincoln. For more information, visit ALMH.org.