PBS is streaming a new documentary, Blood Sugar Rising: America’s Hidden Diabetes Epidemic that follows the diabetes epidemic in the United States.

“It’s time to stop victim-shaming people with diabetes,” said Dan Hurley, scientific journalist, and author.

Through a scientific lens, Blood Sugar Rising, explores the history of diabetes and focuses on the environmental, social, and economical factors of this epidemic.

The documentary centers on the lived experience of people with diabetes, humanizing the impact that diabetes can have on an individual. Through these experiences, we see first-hand how much shame & blame is put on people living with diabetes.

Written by Bryanna, our Director of Operations & Customer Happiness

Click here to watch the full video.

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To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the CDC recommends everyone wears a cloth face-mask when in public.

In addition to washing our hands frequently and maintaining a 6ft. distance from others, cloth masks can help in situations where social distancing is more difficult, such as the grocery store.

Cloth face-masks can easily be made at home with a scarf, bandana, hand towel, or t-shirt, just be sure to wash them frequently. Here are a few tips for making your mask:

Best materials for your mask

Click here to read more.

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Join us on April 2nd from 11:30 am – 12:45 pm

Get ready to succeed a the CDCES exam. This course will transform your test anxiety into calm self-confidence and test taking readiness.

We will review sample test questions and the reasoning behind choosing the right answers.

Topics covered include the changes in requirements for 2020, exam eligibility and test format, strategies to succeed, and a review of study tips and test-taking tactics.

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After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Intended Audience: This FREE webinar is designed for individuals or groups of diabetes educators, including RNs, RDs, Pharmacists, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Physician Assistants and other health care providers interested in achieving excellence in diabetes care and becoming Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists®.

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Certification Exams & COVID-19

Many people in our community are wondering how the shelter-in-place due to COVID-19 impacts any previously scheduled certification exams, so we wanted to provide an update from PSI, the testing centers for the Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education (CBDCE).

The PSI centers for testing closed on March 19 and will be closed till at least April 13th, but will reassess this timeline, as necessary.

PSI states, “Effective immediately, candidates can reschedule up to and including the day of testing at no penalty and no documentation required.”

Due to this closure, all rescheduling rules and no show policies will be relaxed until April 30th; you can reschedule your test till then at no cost.

To avoid long wait times, PSI encourages you to reschedule online through their website. Though you can also reschedule by calling: 833-333-4755 Call Centers are open: 4:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m. PDT M-F, 6:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. PDT Sat-Sun

For more information on the PSI closures, click here. For site closures regarding the BC-ADM exam, click here.

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As we enter this unprecedented phase of the pandemic, how do we as individuals and parents cope? Dr. Giuseppe (Bepi) Raviola serves as the director of the global mental health team at Partners In Health. To help us through this difficult and scary time, he has outlined mental health strategies to help us adapt and cope while we engage in social distancing and upheaval of our daily lives.

We highlight several practices that might help us gain steady emotional footing in this strange new scenario that we are suddenly together in. Coach Beverly has also incorporated a few of her own suggestions.

10 Practices

1. Social distancing doesn’t mean emotional distancing. Find ways to keep connected with your important people. Use technologies such as skyping, facetime and others to keep in touch. Write those thank you cards you have been meaning to send or write a letter to a special person in your life.
2. Create a schedule for your day and try to develop a routine if you are staying home. Make sure to include outdoor activities, time for mindfulness and connecting with others.
3. Carve out time for physical activity. Try to stretch daily and breathe deeply. There are lots of dance instruction and yoga classes online for free. Maybe you want to try a new type of exercise that you can find online. Take a walk outside while talking to friends on the phone. National Parks are not charging admission fees to encourage people to enjoy nature.
4. Try to limit internet time reading about COVID-19. Instead, consider this is a time for learning and intellectual engagement. Start learning that new language, read a book on a topic you are not familiar with, take online courses for continuing education. Dust off your guitar or piano or other instruments and take online lessons.
5. Positive family time can help counter feelings of fear. Play games together, sing karaoke, work on outside projects, cook meals, or just hang out in a shared space.
6. Remember to do the things that you really enjoy doing, that you can do in this situation.
7. Reach out to neighbors that need help getting food and basic necessities. Look for ways to volunteer in your community.
8. Take time for focused meditation and relaxation. We have a wonderful and free Mindfulness Practice for Health Care Professionals that you may want to explore.
9. Limit exposure to TV and internet news. Choose small windows and then find ways to cleanse yourself of it.
10. Bathe daily, if possible, to reinforce feelings of cleanliness. Take a bath in mineral salts, light candles, listen to soothing music.

Read more here.

Remember that we will get through this. We are resilient, smart and resourceful.

With love, Coach Beverly.

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Taking care of ourselves, our families and our patients are our first priorities at this time.

It is very quiet in most neighborhoods this morning; no commuter cars on the streets, no school bus noises, no sounds of children playing. This desolate environment reminds us that there is a lot of unknown for all of us.

It is so important right now to make sure we are all prepared for social distancing and flattening the curve of the spread of this pathogen.

We want to offer a few resources for those living with diabetes to prepare for what’s ahead and how to manage stress during this time. Endocrinologists are urging people that use insulin to plan ahead and have extra supplies on hand.

• DDRC Emergency Preparedness Kit
• ADA Treatment & Care Fact Sheet
• CDC Guidelines for Protecting Yourself and Others from the Coronavirus
• CDC Steps to Take if You’re Sick
• CDC Tips for Managing Stress

Written by Catherine Cullinane RN, CDCES, our resident Tech Thursday Content Writer

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March is the National Nutrition Month!

To kick things off, Coach Beverly has collected an entire page of plant-based eating resources. This page includes recipes, instructional videos, reading materials, and more!

We hope this list informs and inspires you!

Click here to read more.

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These resources include:

Diabetes and Aging – The combination of aging and diabetes can even make some health problems worse. This article addresses what to look out for to prevent any further health issues. 

Diabetes and Nutrition – Tips for managing blood sugar and how eating well can help manage blood sugar.

Diabetes and Sleep – Steps to get a better night’s sleep and how sleep can help those living with diabetes or prediabetes.

Financial Assistance for Diabetes Patients – Information and assistance for private and government health insurance, local programs, support groups, and medicine-assistance programs.

Talking with Your Doctor about Your Treatment – A great resource to help people with diabetes discuss their treatment plans with their providers.

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Happy Friday! As I get older, font sizes seem to be getting smaller. Excited to see the updated Injectables Algorithm, I turned my ADA Book to Standard 9 and quickly realized that in order to read the print, I had to hold the page inches from my nose. And there was no way could I read the footnotes even using my iphone flashlight to illuminate the words.

Thank goodness I collaborate with wonderful staff who boast youthful eyes and 2020 vision.

Robert (our Assistant Director and my high school senior) set to work recreating a draft of the document on Word. Getting the arrows to line up and fitting all the content in little boxes, was challenging, but he persevered. Taryn added the footnotes and I completed the final editing and the creation of the PDF.

We created this readable version because the algorithm is an important document that can be used to promote a collaborative practice.

Coach Beverly

I consider the ADA Standards my clinical “playbook”. The medication algorithms are of particular importance because it provides us with the opportunity to engage in a collaborative practice with our referring providers. “These are the evidence based medication recommendations from the ADA. I use it as a guide to recommend medication additions or changes”.

Enjoy our font enhanced Figure 9.2: Intensifying to Injectable Therapy

Then we can start a conversation exploring if a collaborative practice and medication adjustments using the algorithm is comfortable for the provider and perhaps include into our practice guidelines.

Enjoy this helpful 2 page reference guide, on us!

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Want more Standards of Care updates?

The 2020 Standards of Care is ready for viewing. Coach Beverly highlighted changes from 2019-2020 and summarized important need-to-know content for CDCES’s!

Purchase our Level 1 Standards of Care, or buy the full Level 1 bundle to benefit from all the 2020 updates! Earn 9.0 CEs for $109

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