Nurses Teach Patients Self Care Skills
Balaguera teaches native Spanish speaker Victor Granados how to control his food intake and maintain a healthy diet to manage his type 2 diabetes.?
Maureen Balaguera, RN, certified diabetes educator at Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center (SJPHC), makes it her priority to teach patients how to manage their own diabetes.
“Patients are responsible for 95 percent of their diabetes management,” Balaguera said. “Finding the spark that motivates them to manage their self-care routines and lifestyle is the key to success.”
Nurses, doctors and dietitians help patients succeed in diabetes self management by teaching them how to control their weight and blood sugar fluctuations, regulate their exercise habits, manage their medication schedules and cope with psychosocial influences. These principles are the basis of the Diabetes Self-Management Program at SJPHC, which in October earned the American Diabetes Association’s Education Recognition award for helping patients maintain healthy lifestyles through education and personalized care.
Since 2000, more than 850 patients at SJPHC have participated in the program, which helps patients adapt to and manage their diabetes. Education is a vital practice in diabetes management throughout BWH’s distributed campus. Diabetes self-management programs at 221 Longwood Ave. and the Gretchen S. and Edward A. Fish Center at 850 Boylston St. also have been recognized by the American Diabetes Association, and Brookside Community Health Center is expected to gain similar recognition in coming months.
“We provide high quality care for diabetes patients,” said Rita McCarthy, NP, coordinator for BWH’s Diabetes Self-Management programs. “We continue exploring new opportunities to best serve our patients and personalize their care.”