Winter Meeting Success

54 people gathered for the St. Louis Diabetes Coalition winter meeting, an event that also honored the volunteers who have  led diabetes education groups under the Diabetes Network of St. Louis (DNSL) project. Before dinner Dr. Eric Armbrecht provided a brief re-cap of the Coalition’s 2010 accomplishments and reviewed major programs for 2011.  The centerpiece of the dinner program was a presentation by Drs. Garry Tobin and Michael Elliott that revealed the results from DNSL and the excellent feedback, comments and insights from volunteers. In a nutshell, DNSL worked… very well. The project engaged more than 400 participants in diabetes education groups led by trained lay volunteers at 37 community-based sites.  A1C, blood pressure, BMI, blood glucose testing frequency, and diet habits improved.  Thank you to all who were able to attend and to Saint Louis University for hosting the meeting at their Il Monastero Conference Center, a delightful venue with delicious food for bringing together Coalition stakeholders.

Thursday Feb 10: You are Invited to the Coalition Member Meeting and Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

It’s not black tie and it’s not a fundraiser, but this is the diabetes event to attend in 2011.  Be there.  People may be wondering where you are if you are not at there.  Register now. Space is limited.

So mark your calendar: Thursday, February 10, 5:00 PM, Saint Louis University’s Il Monastero Conference Center, a newly renovated facility located at 3050 Olive Street (St L MO 63103) about one block east of campus.

The dinner program beginning at 6:15 PM will honor community volunteers who worked on the Diabetes Network of St Louis project and feature a presentation by Drs. Mike Elliott and Garry Tobin about its results.  New and exciting initiatives for 2011 will also be announced as well. There are many ways to get involved now.

The dinner program portion of the meeting, which begins at 6:15 PM, is a ticketed event. $40.  Credit card payments are accepted online.  There is no charge to community members who want to attend the reception only (5:00 – 6:15 PM), but registration is still required.

Coalition member meetings are designed for professionals working in medical and public health fields related to diabetes to meet one another and learn about the happenings of St. Louis Diabetes Coalition as well as other efforts in the region to improve diabetes awareness, education and quality of care.

Post Dispatch Reports: Diabetes prevention moves out of the doctor’s office

Today, readers of the St. Louis Post Dispatch learned about local and national efforts to improve diabetes prevention and management.  An excellent story by Michele Munz describes an initiative underway at Shop N Save to help patients with diabetes learn about food and support them in sticking with medication regimens too.  Kudos to Shop N Save!

The St. Louis Diabetes Coalition was recognized in the article for its new program that provides one-on-one diabetes education services to people in community settings, like coffee shops, churches.  You can learn more about this program firsthand at the upcoming member meeting on Feb 10.

In the PD article, Dr. Eric Armbrecht (Saint Louis University Center for Outcomes Research professor and the Coalition’s Acting Executive Director) was quoted in the story… “People need encouragement, and where do you go for encouragement and support for things going on your life?” he said. “It’s not your doctor’s office or your hospital.” Read the full article now.

Diabetes Workshops Get 2011 “Off to a Good Start”

The St. Louis Diabetes Coalition is launching a series of community workshops called Off to a Good Start 2011 for people with diabetes or pre-diabetes.  The first workshop (Exercise is Medicine) in the series of six with different topics will take place on Sat, Jan 15.  Others are scheduled for through February.  All events are free and open to the public. Events are spread across the region –  central, north, and south.  Registration required. Click here for the ad featuring the first 3 events.  Some support for these programs comes from a grant from the St. Louis Regional Health Commission’s Community-University Health Research Partnership.

St. Louis Beacon Reports: “Public health workers place their bets on diabetes education”

On November 23, St. Louis Beacon released a lengthy, compelling story by Robert Joiner about the importance of diabetes education and the role the St. Louis Diabetes Coalition is playing in assisting people with diabetes.  Be sure to read it.  Click here: Public health workers place their bets on diabetes education. The article features the perspective of two participants (Milton and Leona Scott) from the April SoWhatCanIEat? event and comments by the Coalition’s Director of Education Joan McGinnis, RN, MSN, CDE and Saint Louis University professors Dr. Thomas Burroughs and Dr. Eric Armbrecht.   The Coalition thanks the St. Louis Beacon for its recent analysis and coverage of diabetes care from a public health point of view.

About 300 Gather for Coalition’s Education Event at Chase Park Plaza

On Sat November 13…  about 300 people gathered at the fabulous Chase Park Plaza Ballroom in St. Louis to be part of So What Can I Eat?, a community diabetes education program presented by the St. Louis Diabetes Coalition.  Joan McGinnis, MSN, CDE introduced featured speaker Jill Richards-Divita, RD, CDE of Cleveland, Ohio who delivered an informational, witty, and practical presentation that focused on carb counting.  She fielded excellent questions from attentive and engaged participants who had come from all over the region.  This outstanding event was made possible by the generous support of Roche Accu-CHEK and promotional assistance of many partners, including SSM HealthCare, Washington University Diabetes Center, Saint Louis University, and Allsup.  Questions and comments by the participants re-affirmed a belief that the #1 question of people with diabetes still is: So What Can I Eat?. The gathering was very inspiring… providing motivation to participants as well as the Coalition to keep pushing forward its mission to improve diabetes education, care and quality of care across the region.

More than 300 participants attend the So What Can I Eat? education program at the Chase Park Plaza on November 13

CHIPS Hosts 20th Anniversary

Coalition partner Community Health-In-Partnership is hosting is 20th Anniversary gala this weekend (November 20th).  The Coalition invites its members to consider attending or making a charitable contribution  to support their work for uninsured patients with diabetes. Click here to view the invitation or donate to CHIPS.