PinnacleHealth System Receives $252,000 to Improve Diabetes Care for African Americans and Hispanics
Posted on: Monday, 7 August 2006, 12:01 CDT
CAMP HILL, Pa., Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A $252,000 grant from the Highmark Foundation will support an ambulatory diabetes program aimed at caring for African Americans and Hispanics. The program will use culture-specific educational materials, training will be provided for educators, and it will be administered by the PinnacleHealth System of Harrisburg.
"The prevalence of diabetes among minority groups is increasing in the United States. As compared with whites, African Americans and Hispanics are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes," said Yvonne Cook, president of the Highmark Foundation. "PinnacleHealth System has an excellent track record of working with diabetic patients. Through this grant, we help enable them to continue this important work. We hope through education we can make substantial improvements in outcomes from these groups."
"We are most appreciative of the Highmark Foundation's financial support. It is through grants and partnerships such as this that we are able to provide this valuable health care service to residents in central Pennsylvania," said Roger Longenderfer, president and CEO of PinnacleHealth System.
For this specific project PinnacleHealth's program is designed to improve the diabetic care for patients in minority groups and decrease emergency department visits and hospital admissions rates in this population.
PinnacleHealth officials will design educational materials around chronic care from the patient's perspective and they will also address cultural barriers and myths with these populations regarding the disease.
Many unique cultural beliefs affect diabetic control in the Hispanic population. For example, to many older Mexican Americans, obesity is a sign of prosperity. Many Hispanics associate the start of insulin therapy with blindness. Also several food items are associated with the belief that they improve diabetes. The role of family is critical in the Hispanic population. Most experts believe that such cultural barriers have to be accounted for when designing educational strategies to improve diabetes control.
Another phase of the program will be to train people to deliver the content to patients. Two pairs of trainers will be used. Each pair will consist of an Outpatient Diabetes Nurse and a Patient-Educator. Patients with diabetes will be trained to teach other patients with diabetes the importance of healthy lifestyles and how to control their disease. Those trained will educate the targeted population in a small-group setting.
"Educational materials and training programs take a great deal of funding to make them a reality, and we are thankful to the Highmark Foundation for making this happen," said Nirmal Joshi, MD, FACP, vice president, Medical Education, Research and Clinical Informatics for PinnacleHealth System.
Regular blood sugar monitoring with targeted telephone follow-up will be conducted every two weeks. PinnacleHealth officials expect that patients will also be more likely to keep doctors' appointments because of their knowledge of the consequences of insufficient care, and increased collaboration with their health care providers.
About the Highmark Foundation
The Highmark Foundation was created in December 2000 to support initiatives and programs aimed to improve community health. The Foundation's mission is to improve the health, well-being and quality of life of the individuals who reside in the Pennsylvania 49-county region served by Highmark Inc.
The Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations and hospitals for activities of many types, including demonstrations, pilot projects and models that have the potential to be replicated through Highmark's service area.
About PinnacleHealth System
PinnacleHealth includes five campuses (Community, Cumberland, Harrisburg, Polyclinic and Seidle), FamilyCare physician practices, home health and hospice services, FirstPlace urgent care center and an array of health care services. For a complete list of services or to find a physician in your area, visit our Web site at pinnaclehealth.org.
Highmark
CONTACT: Leilyn Perri, Highmark, +1-717-302-4243,leilyn.perri@highmark.com, or Kim Payne, PinnacleHealth, +1-717-231-8104,kpayne@pinnaclehealth.org
Source: PRNewswire
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