Utah kids headed to Washington to lobby lawmakers to fund diabetes treatment, research
SALT LAKE CITY — Two Utah children coping with diabetes are headed to Washington to ask Congress to help them fight the disease.
Eleven-year-old Ethan Erickson, of Taylorsville, and 12-year-old Savannah Taylor, of Lehi, are Utah’s representatives to the annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Children’s Congress.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports they’ll join 150 other American delegates and kids from seven foreign countries to lobby lawmakers for diabetes treatment and research funding.
Utah launched its chapter of the research foundation in 1996 and has raised more than $1 million annually.
Chapter director Laura Western says Utah has attended the every-other-year Children’s Congress since 1999.
Diabetes is a chronic illness which occurs when the pancreas can’t make enough insulin.
WCA Diabetes program receives prestigious ADA recognition
The prestigious American Diabetes Association (ADA) Education Recognition Certificate for a quality diabetes self-management education program was recently awarded to the WCA Hospital Diabetes Program. The WCA Diabetes Program was originally recognized in January, 2002. ADA believes that this program offers high-quality education that is an essential component of effective diabetes treatment.
Programs apply for recognition voluntarily. Programs that achieve recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide with participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management. The ADA concludes that the WCA Hospital Diabetes program provides high-quality education that is an essential component of effective diabetes treatment.
“Our voluntary compliance demonstrates our continued pledge to build the strongest medical community possible,” said Betsy T. Wright, FACHE, WCA Hospital President/CEO. “Certification by the American Diabetes Association inspires a high level of confidence for our patients, referring physicians and managed care organizations and assures them that only the highest quality of care is being provided at WCA.”
Christine T. Tobin, RN, MBA, CDE, President, Health Care & Education for the American Diabetes Association express her congratulations. “The American Diabetes Association is pleased to award education recognition to WCA,” said Tobin. “Adherence to the national standards has undoubtedly improved the education provided to individuals with diabetes. We are confident that those you serve appreciate your efforts, commitment, and success in providing quality diabetes education.
The Association’s Education Recognition Certificate assures that educational programs meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. These standards were developed aand tested under the auspices of the National Diabetes Advisory Board in 1983 and were revised by the diabetes community in 1994 and 2000. Education recognition status is verified by an official certificate from ADA and awarded for three years.
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According to data published from the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet (released January 26, 2011), 25.8 million children and adults in the United States – 8.3 percent of the population – have diabetes. While an estimated 18.8 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 7.0 million people are not aware that they have this disease. Seventy-nine million people are diagnosed with pre-diabetes. In 2010, 1.9 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older.
In 2007, diabetes was listed as the underlying cause on 71,382 death certificates and was listed as a contributing factor on an additional 160,022 death certificates. This means that diabetes contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths.
“People with diabetes are at increased risk for serious health complications,” adds Kathleen Krieg, R.N., BSN, Certified Diabetes Educator at WCA. “These include cardiovascular complications, heart attack or stroke and also eye, kidney, foot and nerve disease. WCA Hospital has support for people affected by these complications. Most importantly, many individuals with pre-diabetes and others at risk of developing the disease can actually prevent Type 2 Diabetes. Those with diabetes can significantly reduce the chances of developing complications and live full, healthy lives. More great news is that treatments and technology have introduced therapies that help people stay one step ahead of diabetes.”
Jacqueline Carlson, RD, WCA Hospital Certified Diabetes Educator added, “Education is they key and we have it all right here at WCA. Our outstanding recognition assures our clients that they will receive top-rated, high-quality service at WCA to help them manage their diabetes throughout their lifetime.”
More than 80% pleased with medical treatment
More than 80 per cent of residents are pleased with the treatment they receive at hospitals, a significant increase on previous years, according to a survey on patient satisfaction.
A total of 34,200 hospital patients throughout Abu Dhabi were interviewed for the study, which was commissioned to help the Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (Haad) monitor and improve services.
Hospitals were split into three regions: eastern (Al Ain), western and Abu Dhabi city. Some of the individual hospitals from each region were also given ratings.
Al Ain hospitals were the most successful, with 84 per cent of patients giving a positive response.
“We’ve focused on making the patient’s experience less traumatic by improving the parking situation dramatically,” said Dr Riad Abdelkarim, the chief medical officer at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain.
“We have given significant priority parking to patients and we’ve also taken steps to address the access needs to our clinics by implementing Saturday clinics.”
But communication remains poor at the hospital, according to the survey. Dr Abdelkarim said that was key because “it can alter the perception of the patient regarding their care”.
He said more focus had been put on improving customer service in the past couple of years in Al Ain, from the top management to the front-line staff.
Interactions with doctors and nurses were factors patients valued most, the study showed.
Prof Gerhard Schwab, the medical director of Al Ain Hospital, which had an overall patient satisfaction rate of 84 per cent, said: “You must remember the patient is a human being.”
Some 84 and 81 per cent expressed their contentment with Abu Dhabi and the Western Region hospitals.
Many complaints were made in previous years about waiting times at the Corniche Hospital, which this time had an 87 per cent rate of patient satisfaction.
“It’s still not really where the end result needs to be,” said Ronald Lavater, the chief executive of the hospital. “We’re still working on it and we still have opportunities to reduce our waiting times further.”
Common factors that determine customer satisfaction were waiting times, ease of access, critical care and communication with the patient in a way that respects their clinical needs.
“We’ve looked at every aspect of a patient’s experience within the hospital,” said Mr Lavater. “And we’re now trying to focus things on the patient – how doctors interact with him, the way the facility is organised – to put him in the centre.”
He said the hospital was looking at hiring more staff, expanding parking and reducing paperwork. Free valet parking has been introduced at Corniche Hospital.
Dr Nabil Debouni, the medical director at Lifeline Hospital in Abu Dhabi, which had a rate of 85 per cent customer satisfaction, said to a patient, good care means feeling safe.
“There are six safety goals that all hospitals should implement and in that sense, the patient can feel that he is being taken care of,” Dr Debouni said.
Those goals include proper communication, safe medication and proper checking of identification.
“This will aid the patients in their choice of healthcare facility for their own care and their families,” said Tammy Donnelly, the director of Haad’s corporate performance and operations division. But patients cited additional factors for improvement, including waiting times and the process for being discharged.
Although no statistics were provided in the study, hospitals in the Western Region were shown as particularly weak in courtesy and friendliness. Five out of seven hospitals, including Al Mirfa and Al Wagan, had the lowest ratings in terms of friendly medical staff.
Outpatients complained most about a lack of proper communication from medical staff in 11 hospitals such as SKMC (psychiatrics), Lifeline Day Care and Al Reef International.
The time medical staff spent with patients was also deemed insufficient for 13 hospitals, including Al Ahalia and Al Tawam. Outpatients also cited inadequate parking facilities at 13 hospitals and uncomfortable waiting areas in 12.
A YouGovSiraj survey commissioned by The National in 2009 found very different results, with seven of 10 respondents claiming they would rather go abroad for medical treatment.
“Although Haad is working towards improving services to allow patients to stay in the UAE for their care, many still prefer to travel abroad for medical treatment,” said Ms Donnelly.
Haad is working on incorporating the patient satisfaction measures with other healthcare indicators to develop a quality ratings system.
New Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Tradjenta Now Available in U.S. Pharmacies
The new type 2 diabetes drug Tradjenta (linagliptin) is now available by prescription in pharmacies across the United States including Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the drug on May 2, 2011. Tradjenta was approved as a prescription medication to be used along with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. Tradjenta should not be used in patients with type 1 diabetes or for the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis (increased ketones in the blood or urine). It has not been studied in combination with insulin.
Tradjenta belongs to a class of prescription medications called dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and is the first member of its class to be approved at one dosage strength (5 mg, once daily).
Tradjenta was approved based on a clinical trial program that included approximately 4,000 adults with type 2 diabetes. Included in the program were placebo-controlled studies evaluating Tradjenta as monotherapy and in combination with some commonly prescribed medications for type 2 diabetes — metformin, sulfonylurea or pioglitazone.
