AHEC North Central Receives Diabetes Education Certification
| LITTLE ROCK – The Diabetes Education Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Area Health Education Center (AHEC) North Central in Batesville has been certified by the American Diabetes Association.
The Association’s Education Recognition Certificate assures that the AHEC’s educational programs meet national standards for diabetes self-management education programs.
“We’re proud of the recognition, but just as importantly we want our participants to know that they are receiving the highest quality diabetes education available anywhere,” said Dennis Moore, Pharm.D., director of AHEC NC.
“Diabetes has become an epidemic in Arkansas and the United States, and it’s important that residents here have help to combat this disease,” said Rhonda Woods, R.N., coordinator of the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program in Batesville.
AHEC NC began the Diabetes Self-Management Program in 2010 in partnership with the White River Medical Center (WRMC). More than 40 patients are enrolled in classes that teach them how best to manage their diabetes.
Classes are taught in one-on-one and group sessions. The program, which follows the standard curriculum created by the American Diabetes Association, educates participants on the short- and long-term complications of type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes. Participants learn how to manage their condition through healthy eating, regular exercise and taking medication correctly.
Nearly 24 million people – 8 percent of the population – in the United States have diabetes. Since 1987, the death rate due to diabetes has increased by 45 percent, while death rates due to heart disease, stroke and cancer have declined.
Classes are held on Tuesdays from 1-3 p.m. at AHEC NC, 1215 Sidney St., suite 201, Batesville. To register for classes, call (870) 698-9992. The cost of the education program is covered by Medicare and private insurance. Financial assistance is available for self-pay participants.
More information is available online at: http://ruralhealth.uams.edu/AHECNC/diabetes.
AHEC NC is an outreach of UAMS, serving Marion, Baxter, Fulton, Sharp, Searcy, Van Buren, Stone, Cleburne, Izard and Independence counties..
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a 540,000-square-foot hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and six institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,836 students and 761 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.