Diabetes Coalition of Massachusetts recognizes three programs for their 2007 Programs of Excellence
Awards
Boston, MA – At a time when the federal government has sharply reduced its funding for diabetes
awareness, the Diabetes Coalition of Massachusetts (DCOM) has stepped up to spotlight diabetes
initiatives that are innovative, sustainable and show a demonstrated contribution towards diabetes
care. DCOM ran its second ever Programs of Excellence awards on the May 18th at the Hoagland-
Pincus Conference Center in Shrewsbury, MA. The nomination criteria called for programs focused on
the prevention, education, and/or the management of diabetes throughout the Commonwealth. DCOM
selected three programs for recognition in 2007: Holyoke Health Center; the Richard and Susan Smith
Family Foundation and Fireman Charitable Foundation in Boston; and Home Health VNA of Lawrence.
“Diabetes is a terrible disease,” said Tim Garvin, President and CEO of United Way of Central
Massachusetts, member of the DCOM Executive Committee, and father of a child with Type 1 diabetes.
“There are now an estimated 21 million people nationwide with diabetes and another 45 million who
could develop it. It is the leading cause of kidney failure, blindness and amputations. Anything DCOM
can do to call attention to this health crisis is good — especially if it involves recognizing the efforts of
our neighbors on the frontline.”
Holyoke Health Center’s (HHC) Diabetes Self-Management Program is designed to engage clinical,
support staff and low income Latino patients with Type 2 diabetes to improve and maintain positive
behavior changes and health outcomes. In 2003, HHC received grant funding to develop an extensive
program of resources and supports to help patients self-manage their diabetes. Programs were
implemented to increase knowledge about diabetes, improve patient self-efficacy and problem solving
skills. The program provides a series of interventions, such as Breakfast Club, Snack Club, Diabetes
Education, Exercise Class, Clinical Staff Training and ongoing involvement of Promotoras de Salud for
specialized diabetes self-management programming. Holyoke’s program makes a positive impact on
patient’s lifestyle behaviors, self-efficacy, skills, knowledge and monitors improvements in clinical
indicators.
The Smith Family Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life in greater Boston. The goal of
the Foundation’s Improving Diabetes Care Initiative is to improve health outcomes for people with
diabetes by expanding access and improving quality of care through a variety of interventions aimed at
slowing the progress of the disease. The Foundation has funded health centers to evaluate the
economic implications of the interventions and replicate successful practices to obtain more adequate
third-party reimbursement. "We are confident the projects that we and the Fireman Foundation are
supporting at five Boston community health centers will help people with diabetes live longer, healthier
and more productive lives,” said David Ford, Executive Director of the Smith Family Foundation.
“Looking ahead, we also hope to demonstrate to public and private insurers that investments in
prevention and chronic disease management are cost effective from a societal standpoint." The
initiative is intended to run from May 2006 through April 2011, aiming to sustain the most effective
interventions via third party reimbursement and/or alternative funding sources.
In 2006, Home Health VNA embarked on a project to develop a diabetes care management program.
The program, which is centered on module-based diabetes clinical pathway tool, provides visiting
clinicians with a roadmap to guide interventions and teaching with diabetic patients. The pathway tool
contains behaviorally stated patient objectives, guides clinicians to find specific information within the
packet and which behavioral objectives the diabetic patient should meet following the intervention.
The pathway tool is multidisciplinary, providing interventions for nurses, dieticians, physical therapists
and social workers. It incorporates a multitude of simple and colorful patient handouts also available in
Spanish. The goal of the pathway is to improve diabetic’s self-management, reduce hospitalizations,
provide comprehensive education materials, minimize variations in practice among visiting clinicians,
provide clinicians with a flexible tool, promote continuity of care, improve the process of communication
and documentation and educate visiting clinicians on the current standards of diabetes. The Home
Health VNA project serves patients residing in seventy-eight cities and towns in Massachusetts and
New Hampshire.
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ABOUT THE DIABETES COALITION OF MASSACHUSETTS: The Diabetes Coalition of Massachusetts was
created in 2005 to bring together the hundreds of organizations and individuals working on diabetes
throughout the state. Its mission is to be a catalyst and advocate for the diagnosis, education,
prevention and management of diabetes in all populations. For more information, please contact Matt
Kraus at diabetescoalitionma at gmail.com.
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