| Educating Our Community
 Managed by the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University, the Diabetes Education and Research Center (DERC) provides support for children and adults who may be at risk for diabetes, have diabetes or are at risk of complications of diabetes.
Learning more about diabetes may lead to a happier, more active and productive life. Services offered include:
• | At Risk for Diabetes Counseling | | | | • | High Blood Pressure Management | | | | • | High Cholesterol Management | | | | • | Overweight/Obesity Management | | • | Carbohydrate Counting | | • | Child and Teen Lifestyle Program | | • | Diabetes and Pregnancy | | • | Diabetes Self Management Education | | • | Insulin Pump Training | | • | Medication Therapy Management | | • | Medical Nutrition Therapy |
For more information, visit www.faudiabetescenter.org.
| | Addressing Childhood Obesity | | | The DERC efforts to prevent obesity and diabetes by reaching out to at-risk populations are well underway. This summer, we visited local day camps to advocate for healthy lifestyle changes. The above photo shows a DERC staff member leading a group of children in a mindfulness exercise.
Thanks to a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Foundation, DERC is implementing our "Embracing a Healthy Tomorrow: Empowering Communities to Overcome Childhood Obesity" outreach effort to 1,400 children who are at-risk for obesity and diabetes and their parents via Palm Beach County-area schools, churches, community centers and youth programs. This summer we reached 350 children and adults. | |
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| Supporting Nurse-Led Diabetes Care
 Primary Care Diabetes recently published a study that round that nurse-led care for diabetes leads to better outcomes. Data on nearly 13,000 type 2 diabetes patients showed only 17.2 percent of those at practices with nurse-led diabetes clinics had an HbA1C value of 8 percent or more, compared with 68 percent of those who did not receive nurse-led care. In practices without diabetes education, the average HbA1C was 17.6 percent. To read the article, click here. | | DERC in the Community | | | | Representatives from the DERC participated in the Palm Beach County Medical Society’s Future of Medicine Summit in West Palm Beach on Thursday, September 27. Clinical director Eugenia Millender participated in a panel discussion on "Diabetes: A National and Global Crisis." | |
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| Knowing Your Numbers
 The DERC was featured in ‘Know your numbers:’ Groups join forces to battle diabetes ‘crisis’ which published in the Friday, September 28 issue of the Palm Beach Daily News.
Eugenia Millender, the DERC’s clinical director, emphasized that individuals must take responsibility by increasing their activity level and decreasing the amount of calories they consume daily. People should know their numbers — cholesterol, triglycerides, body mass index (BMI) — and family history.
Click here to read the article online. |
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| | Projecting America's Obesity Rates |
 The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health recently released an analysis of state obesity rates made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The analysis projects America’s obesity rates through 2030. If current obesity rates continue, every state could have an obesity rate above 44 percent by 2030, and most states could have rates higher than 50 percent, the report found.
That means that the prevalence of health problems like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and hypertension could increase 10 times by 2020 — then double that by 2030.
To read a brief on the analysis, click here. | | |
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| Meet Helen Romanacce
 Helen Romanacce is the program assistant at the DERC and the friendly face who greets patients as they enter the clinic. Helen has an eight-year track record in the non-profit industry providing services for the underserved population. She began her journey in the health care industry as an admissions coordinator for Beverly Enterprises. Helen received a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from the InterAmerican University in San Juan, Puerto Rico and is currently a graduate student at FAU’s School of Social Work. She is fluent in English and Spanish. | | Connect with Us | | | The DERC care team follows a comprehensive, holistic and multidisciplinary team approach to preventing, treating and managing diabetes. With financial support from the Palm Healthcare Foundation, we provide care for all socioeconomic groups regardless of the method of payment.
The Center is located in the Palm Healthcare Pavilion at 5205 Greenwood Avenue, Suite 110 in West Palm Beach. For more information about FAU’s Diabetes Education and Research Center or to make an appointment, call 561-803-8880 or visit www.faudiabetescenter.org. “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FAUDiabetesCenter. | |
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