St. John Health Diabetes Educators

Who Are They?

The St. John Health Diabetes Education Team is comprised of health care professionals who are experts in providing care and education to people with diabetes. Most staff members are also certified diabetes educators (CDE), which means they have worked a minimum of 1,000 hours in Diabetes Education and have passed the National Certification exam. The Diabetes Education Team includes:

• nurses (including a Nurse Practitioner)
• dietitians
• podiatrist
• pharmacist
• exercise specialists

What Do They Do?

St. John Health Diabetes Educators put the focus on the patient. By getting to know patients as individuals, Diabetes Educators are able to help create a self-management plan that meets the individual's needs based on age, activities of daily living; including family demands, school or work schedules, eating habits, and other physical, emotional, or social limitations.

Services provided by Diabetes Educators include:

• providing comprehensive patient teaching. 
• assessing each individual patient to determine their learning needs, including identification of the individual's strength and vulnerabilities with regard to diabetes self care.
• teaching patients about the disease - what diabetes is, the signs and symptoms, risk factors, and the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. 
• teaching people how to test and record blood sugars.  Contacts can be made with various Diabetes Supply companies to ensure that patients will continue to receive testing materials.  Patients learn target blood sugar and A1C ranges. Patients learn that to avoid the risk of complications it is crucial to keep their blood sugar levels in control. 
• helping patients understand how their medications work, and how to incorporate healthy eating and physical activity into their daily life. Patients receive individualized meal plans with complete instruction from CDE Dieticians that will help them to reach their weight goals, keep their blood sugars in control, and minimize risk of long-term complications.  Patients learn how to set and evaluate self -care goals.  The focus is on lifestyle changes, not just "quick fixes."
• teaching patients how to problem solve and adjust emotionally to their disease.