University of New Mexico Hospital Takes On Diabetes
Anyone with diabetes will tell you it’s a difficult disease to manage, which makes places like the University of New Mexico Hospital Center for Diabetes Education even more important. Here, diabetes sufferers learn to control the disease and its symptoms and connect with other people afflicted by the disease.
“Diabetes is a tough disease, but people who go through our classes fill out evaluations, and 100 percent of them tell us it’s helpful and makes a difference in their lives,” says Ruth Bear, diabetes educator at the Center for Diabetes Education. “We spend more time focusing on their diabetes than any other entity. At individual appointments, we go over their medications, eating habits, exercise habits and lifestyle to help them better manage the disease.”
According to the American Diabetes Association, 23.6 million people in the United States suffer from diabetes, which translates to about 8 percent of the population. The disease contributed to the deaths of an astounding 200,000 Americans in 1999.
New Mexico is particularly plagued by diabetes, with more than 120,000 sufferers, including 17 percent of all New Mexicans older than 40. The reason for its prevalence can be traced to the state’s demographics, which include 42 percent Hispanics and 10 percent Native Americans. Both groups are at greater risk for developing diabetes.
“Family history of the disease, ethnicity and lifestyle are major contributors,” says Mary Lynn Johnston, Center for Diabetes Education coordinator. “Native Americans and Hispanics are more likely to inherit diabetes tendencies if their lifestyle consists of low activity with adequate or extra caloric intake as compared to European age peers.”
The Center for Diabetes Education provides educational services for adults whose primary care physician is at UNM Hospital or who are seen in first choice clinics with the UNM Cares plan.
“Our program has been repeatedly recognized by the American Diabetes Association, and most of our staff volunteer elsewhere in the community to support diabetes projects and programs,” Johnston says. “We help people understand the disease process and their role in controlling it. We teach self-management skills and answer the questions that come up, especially early on after the initial diagnosis – a very scary time.”
Periodically, the center offers group classes that double as a support group.
“We encourage people to come because they really bond with one another,” Bear says. “It’s not a classroom setting. We use colorful conversation maps to help guide the conversation in a relaxed way.”
Bear enjoys her job for the opportunity to learn and interact with people.
“I like helping people be healthier, and I like diabetes management because there’s always new research, new treatments and new things to learn,” she says.
Johnston says the biggest challenge about working with diabetes sufferers is keeping up with the growing need.
“We wish we had more resources to expand,” she says.
But in the mean time, the center is touching lives one at a time.
“My team sees the bulk of the patients, and they are so dedicated, bright, gentle and intelligent,” Johnston says. “I feel proud and awed to work with them providing care for the diabetes community.”
