The prestigious American Diabetes Association (ADA) Education Recognition Certificate for a quality diabetes self-management education program was awarded to the Houston Healthcare Diabetes Management Program in early August. The Houston Healthcare program has been recognized since September of 2000. ADA believes this program offers high-quality education that is an essential component of effective diabetes treatment.
The Association’s Education Recognition Certificate assures that educational programs meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. These Standards were developed and tested under the auspices of the National Diabetes Advisory Board in 1983 and were revised by the diabetes community in 1994, 2000 and 2007.
Programs apply for Recognition voluntarily. Programs that achieve Recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management. “The process gives professionals a national standard by which to measure the quality of services they provide,” comments Beth Jones, Director of Community Education at Houston Healthcare. “And, of course, it assures the consumer that he or she will likely receive high-quality care.” Education Recognition status is verified by an official certificate from ADA and awarded for four years.
According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 25.8 million people or 8.5 percent of the population in the United States who have diabetes. While an estimated 18.8 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately, 7.0 million people are not aware that they have this disease. Each day approximately 5,205 people are diagnosed with diabetes. Many will first learn that they have diabetes when they are treated for one of its life-threatening complications – heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and nerve disease and amputation. About 1.9 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2010 in the United States. Diabetes contributed to 231,404 deaths in 2007, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the US. Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people of similar age but without diabetes.
“Our numbers continue to grow for the Diabetes Management Program, which means more people are taking charge of their health and not waiting until complications develop which force them to get help,” states Jones. “We have seen countless positive outcomes and lifestyle changes with these patients and are committed to doing our part to help improve their health.”
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