Meridian receives ADA's Certificate of Education Recognition for diabetes education program

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has awarded Meridian Medical Associates a Certificate of Education Recognition for its diabetes self-management education program. Meridian's program originally received the award in February 2009, and was recently granted extended recognition for continuing to offer quality diabetes education to Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

Meridian's diabetes education program provides high-quality self-management education services to the diabetes community. The program consists of an individual session with a registered dietician for assessment and meal planning and four classes on key topics related to diabetes management and control. The classes focus on diabetes disease process, medications and monitoring; preventing, detecting and treating acute and chronic complication; control through exercise, psychosocial adjustment, problem solving and goal setting; and medical nutrition therapy. "Meridian's diabetes self-management education program allows people who have diabetes to integrate self-management of the disease into their lives. Through this program, patients can avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and complications of diabetes by learning how to manage diabetes on their own," explains Judith Slover-Zipf, DNP, ANP-BC, ADM-BC, CDE, Meridian Medical Associates.

The American Diabetes Association's Certificate of Education Recognition is the leading quality assurance mechanism for diabetes self-management education programs across the United States. The primary goal of the education recognition is to assure high-quality education that develops and improves patient self-care skills essential to diabetes management. Programs that achieve recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health care professionals who can provide participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management. As an ADA recognized program, Meridian's diabetes education program is formally identified for its performance and quality.

In order to receive ADA recognition, a diabetes education program must cover the following topics while educating diabetes patients: diabetes disease process; nutritional management; physical activity; medications; monitoring; preventing, detecting, and treating acute complications; preventing, detecting, and treating chronic complications through risk reduction; goal setting and problem solving; psychological adjustment; and preconception care, management during pregnancy, and gestational management.

According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 25.8 million people in the United States suffering from diabetes. While an estimated 18.8 million have been diagnosed, 7 million people do not know they have the disease. Every day, approximately 5,205 people are diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes contributed to 231,404 deaths in 2007, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. The risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people of similar age without diabetes.