KVCH awarded grant for diabetes management program

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Kittitas Valley Community Hospital has received a $10,000 grant provided by Foundation for Healthcare Quality to fund the hospital’s participation in the Washington State Collaborative on diabetes. This yearlong project involves developing an electronic management system for chronic disease and emphasizes a preventive approach to health problems associated with diabetes. The collaborative is organized by the Washington Department of Health and involves many health care providers from around the state.

Diabetes is a disease affecting the body’s use of the foods we eat. It requires daily attention to maintain blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible. It also requires frequent contact with health care providers. This is both to prevent immediate problems and to reduce the impact of the disease on long-term health.

Merrily Warren, diabetes education coordinator, Warren Baylinson, director of patient care services, and Dr. Elizabeth Wise of Cle Elum are participating in the Washington State Collaborative. They are developing a pilot program to see if the approach will work to help better manage diabetic patient care. Patients with diabetes from Cle Elum Family Medicine Clinic will receive a letter asking them to participate in the pilot.

Merrily Warren said, “KVCH plans to set up a countywide diabetes registry with a computerized tracking system that allows us to monitor the progress of diabetes treatment. We will track patient visits, medications, lab tests, referrals and assist patients in establishing self-management goals.”

According to Warren, to establish self-management goals patients will be asked to determine one thing that they would like to do to help with their own diabetes care. Often this is a specific diet or exercise related goal. “We realize lifestyle changes are tough and trying to provide an effective support structure is really the essence of diabetes care,” Warren said. “The hurdle will be to see if patients want to be involved.”

Once the registry is up and running, it will give physicians a tool to use during planned visits that will have all diabetes related information on one sheet. It will also provide a way to look at diabetes patients as a group and evaluate areas where more emphasis is needed. The registry is intended to facilitate communication and provide more comprehensive support for changes that diabetes patients have to make to prevent the long-term complications of the disease.

For more information about diabetes support, contact Merrily Warren at 962-7373 or diabetes@kvch.com.

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