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HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital Diabetes Self-Management Education Program has been awarded continued Recognition from the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Programs that achieve Recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide state-of-the-art information about diabetes management for participants.

Self-management education is an essential component of diabetes treatment. One consequence of compliance with the National Standards is the greater consistency in the quality and quantity of education offered to people with diabetes. Participants in an ADA Recognized program such as St. Anthony's are taught self-care skills that will promote better management of his or her diabetes treatment regimen. All approved education programs cover the following topics as needed: diabetes disease process; nutritional management; physical activity; medications; monitoring; preventing, detecting, and treating acute complications; preventing, detecting, and treating chronic complications through risk reduction; goal setting and problem solving; psychological adjustment; and preconception care, management during pregnancy, and gestational management.

Assuring high-quality education for patient self-care is one of the goals of the ADA Education Recognition program. The Program provides individual consultations, group classes, insulin pump management, continuous blood glucose monitoring, and a community diabetes support group. Through the support of the health care team and increased knowledge and awareness of diabetes, the patient can assume a major part of the responsibility for his/her diabetes management. Unnecessary hospital admission and some of the acute and chronic complications of diabetes can be prevented through self-management education.

"The process gives professionals a national standard by which to measure the quality of the services they provide," commented Bonnie Kruse, St. Anthony's Clinical Nutrition Services. "And, of course, it helps consumers to identify these quality programs."

For more information about the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program, call Bonnie Kruse, MS, RD, MBA, Clinical Nutrition Services, at (217) 347-1288, or visit St. Anthony's Web site at stanthonyshospital.org. HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital is part of the Southern Illinois Division of Hospital Sisters Health System, which also includes HSHS St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville, HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital in Breese, HSHS Holy Family Hospital in Greenville, and HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital in Highland