Entries from July 2008
The St. Louis Diabetes Coalition will host the Diabetes Leadership Institute on Saturday, August 23, 10 AM – 1 PM at the Missouri History Museum. Lunch provided. Women and men with diabetes are invited to this hands-on learning program about taking control of diabetes… and helping others do the same too. Led by local diabetes experts, the small group sessions will address diet, exercise, medications, how to talk with your health care provider, and ways to help others in the community living with diabetes. Space is limited. To learn more or make a reservation, contact Tish Singer: (314) 747-9533 tsinger@im.wustl.edu. Download the flyer and pass it along to interested individuals and organizations.
Categories: Events
Robert W. Whitlock, MSSW, MHA, LCSW, Director of the Missouri Kidney Program (MoKP) and leader in the kidney community, passed away on July 20, 2008. The MoKP, a state kidney program affiliated with the University of Missouri , was established in 1968 to assist Missouri residents with chronic kidney disease in meeting their medical, financial, psychological and educational needs. During Mr. Whitlock’s 14-year tenure as Director, the MoKP subsidized medication and transplant-related expenses for over 2100 low-income patients with kidney disease, educated 2000 patients about their treatment options through the Patient Education Program, and conducted research funded by the National Kidney Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control, and HRSA’s Division of Transplantation. He proudly served in the U.S. Air Force, both on active and reserve duty, from 1972 until 1978. He was the father of Jessica and Joshua Whitlock, grandfather of Victoria and Xavier Whitlock and beloved husband of Margo. He leaves a legacy of improved care of kidney patients throughout the entire state of Missouri. May peace be with the Whitlock family.
Categories: People
On July 22, the St. Louis Diabetes Coalition hosted a training program for 26 health care prof
essionals to learn about and discuss the Conversation Map approach to diabetes education. The Coalition thanks Merck for sponsoring the event and SLADE member Kathy Little, RN, CDE for being the facilitator. Ms. Little has been to 30 states and 95 cities to provide 100 training a programs. It must have been nice to do one so close to home. Thank you to everyone who attended… especially one nurse who traveled from the Bootheel to join us. For more information about Conversation Maps, goto www.healthyi.com.
Categories: Uncategorized
On Tues, July 15, the St. Louis Diabetes Coalition accepted an invitation from the Saint Louis University School of Public Health to exhibit at a national conference on evidence-based community benefit. The conference, , introduced new public health evidence-based tools and knowledge to health care practitioners in order to enhance the effectiveness of community benefit programs and thus the overall health of communities. About 200 people from more than 30 states attended. The Coalition’s exhibit featured its educational programs as examples for health systems to consider as strategies. There is a movement afoot in non-profit health care (which most health systems are) to clearly document and demonstrate community benefit. Why? The IRS has changed the rules on how health systems must report what they do for the community to earns their non-tax-paying status.
Categories: Events · People
On June 23, the FDA approved a fixed-dose combination of the meglitinide, repaglinide, with the biguanide, metformin HCl (PrandiMet; Novo Nordisk, Inc, and marketed by Sciele Pharma) for use as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are already being treated with a meglitinide and metformin or who have not achieved adequate glycemic control with either component alone. PrandiMet will be available by prescription during the second half of 2008. Use of the combination product is contraindicated in patients with renal impairment or metabolic acidosis and in those receiving both gemfibrozil and itraconazole. The FDA advises that renal function should be assessed and verified as normal before initiation of therapy and at least annually thereafter. Here’s the FDA label.
Categories: News
n Germany, the Federal Government has decided to discontinue the reimbursement of short-acting analogue insulins for people with type 1 diabetes. This follows the conclusions of an evidence-based evaluation carried out by the German Institute for Quality and Cost Effectiveness in Health Care Sector (IQWiG) that was submitted to the German Joint Government Committee (G-BA). As the evaluation concluded that these insulins had no added value compared to human insulin, the decision to discontinue reimbursement was based purely on economic grounds. For more info on this international news story… check out the International Diabetes Federation.
Categories: News
The Food and Drug Administration is considering tougher standards for new and current diabetes drugs, raising concern in the pharmaceutical industry that the agency may ultimately raise the time and cost needed to approve of a wide array of new drugs. The FDA is weighing whether to insist that new diabetes drugs have a positive impact on cardiovascular disease and life span, which are more difficult to measure than current benchmarks such as lower blood sugar. A shift away from current research benchmarks, known as surrogate endpoints, might change the entire framework of drug approval because research on most medicines — from anemia to cancer drugs — relies on such interim measures. Read more in the article from the Wall Street Journal online.
Categories: Events
The St. Louis Diabetes Coalition is co-sponsoring a training program for health care professionals interested in learning about the Conversation Map method of diabetes education. We expanded the number of available slots to accomodate the interest…and there are a few slots left. Download the invitation. The program will be held on Tues, July 22 at 5 PM at the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition, a very central location near the intersection of US-170 and Ladue Road (just a few blocks west of downtown Clayton). You must register online. Click here to register.
Categories: Uncategorized
The St. Louis Diabetes Coalition will be offering Diabetes@Work at three worksites during the summer and fall 2008: AmerenUE, Mercy Health Plans and Metro. Diabetes@Work is an employer-sponsored diabetes education program provided at the worksite over a three month period. Any companies interested in getting involved with Diabetes@Work can contact Joan McGinnis, SLDC Director of Education.
Categories: News
On July 2, the St. Louis Post Dispatch (Business Section) featured a story about about the business of diabetes education in the St. Louis region. The reporter Mary Jo Feldstein wrote… “Although more Americans are being diagnosed with diabetes, some local hospitals are scaling back or eliminating their diabetes education programs, which advocates say can prevent a lifetime of unnecessary complications and cost.” Eric Armbrecht, PhD (St. Louis Diabetes Coalition) and Mary Overstreet, RN (Christian Hospital Diabetes Institute) are quoted in the article… as well as one James Wells, an 86 year old man with diabetes who wished that he had received diabetes education services sooner. The article is a must-read for diabetes advocates. You can access the article from StLToday. Click here.
Categories: Uncategorized
