DREAM Team Updates
June 2023
Embedded Files
MOBILE DIABETES EDUCATION CENTER -MOBEC
SERVING SOLANO COUNTY AND BEYOND
MOBEC turned 6 years last April!
The MOBEC Team is continuing to partner with neighborhood faith-based organizations, food distribution sites, senior-housing complexes, schools, libraries, and other public events/locations to provide the much-needed prediabetes and diabetes awareness services and one-on-one self-management diabetes education to our community members in Solano County. 165 people received blood glucose and/or blood pressure screenings through MOBEC services between December 2022 and May 2023. Of those, 12% of the people screened were found to have blood glucose above the normal range (people with no previous diagnosis of prediabetes or diabetes).
Kaiser Permanente has sponsored MOBEC to support more visits to Dixon, Rio Vista, and Napa County in 2023. The team has brought diabetes and hypertension screening and education to new locations such as Dixon and Rio Vista Libraries, Dixon Heritage Commons, Dixon Migrant Center, and Calistoga.
Check our Events section to find out where and when MOBEC will be on the road at tu.edu/mobec. TUC students are encouraged to participate at our community visits. Sign up to volunteer on MOBEC at www.wejoinin.com/sheets/tpaiw.
NATIONAL DPP LIFESTYLE CHANGE PROGRAM
WORKING TO PREVENT DIABETES
According to the American Diabetes Association (2020), there were 88 million American adults that had prediabetes. The National Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Change Program (DPP) is a CDC-recognized program for people who have prediabetes, have had gestational diabetes, or are at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes. This one-year program provides support to participants in reaching their goal of preventing diabetes by focusing on eating healthy, adding physical activity to their routine, managing stress, staying motivated, and solving problems.
The DREAM Team continues to offer the National DPP Lifestyle Change Program in a distance-learning format. The team aims to restart in-person cohorts in the near future. The latest virtual cohort started in February 2023, and the DPP team is currently working to start another virtual cohort in early Fall 2023. For information about the sessions, please contact us at 707-638-5970 or tuc.mobec@touro.edu.
SUCCESS WITH DIABETES
DIABETES EDUCATION PROJECT
For the 34 million Americans who have been diagnosed with diabetes, with the invaluable help from many TUC students, the DREAM Team has created the Success with Diabetes program. This six-session program is designed to help people understand and manage their type 2 diabetes to live healthier lives by preventing or delaying complications. It can be attended in-person or online. We recently finished two in-person English cohorts. One was held at the Florence Douglas Senior center in Vallejo, and the other one was at the Solano Family Health Services Vacaville clinic. Our next cohort will take place in Sereno Village, Vallejo, starting on June 14th, 2023. We hope to hold a Spanish cohort later in the year. For information about the sessions, please contact the team at 707-638-5970 or tuc.mobec@touro.edu.
PHARM2HOME
P2H INITIATIVE EXPANDS PHARMACY SERVICES AROUND THE SOLANO COMMUNITY TO ADVANCE HEALTH EQUITY
The Pharm2Home Initiative is a clinical-pharmacist-led program with the aim to bridge the gaps between clinical appointments. The team has made its way around Solano County, reaching out to over 139 participants (as of March 2023) and prevented 49 unscheduled hospital or clinic visits resulting from hypoglycemic events. At enrollment, only 3 participants self-monitored their blood pressure; at evaluation, 25 participants self-monitored their blood pressure. This was a 7-fold improvement. For self-monitoring of blood glucose, 40 participants self-monitored at enrollment; at evaluation, 50 participants self-monitored. This was a 1.25-fold increase. The consistency of self-monitoring directly links to the effectiveness and safety of their pharmacotherapies, which the participants take daily for chronic diseases. Nineteen members have successfully completed the program and reported sustaining their efforts in self-monitoring blood glucose and blood pressure three months after the last program visit.
The P2H Team recognizes that mental health and the multiple social determinants of health can impair an individual’s ability to perform effective chronic disease management. Therefore, the team approaches clinical care beyond a participant’s disease states by offering individualized patient care and education to address the potential barriers. While understanding that the healthcare system is a complex environment to navigate, the team has also offered additional services, including care coordination to meet the needs of the participants. With the integration of clinical pharmacists into an inter-professional team, the program has received positive feedback from participants about their enhanced understanding of their chronic conditions, medication usage, and optimized medication regimens. This community benefit program continues to thrive through Sutter Health’s support and funding!
STAY FLOSSY
ORAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR SOLANO RESIDENTS
Stay Flossy was a collaborative outreach initiative in partnership with the Mobile Diabetes Education Center (MOBEC) aimed at providing equitable access to oral health services for underserved residents of Solano County. This population faced a disproportionate risk of developing diabetes and related complications including periodontal disease. The project received funding from the PA Health Foundation and focused on delivering free fluoride varnish applications, distributing dental kits, and providing dental health education to the community.
Over the course of the project, Stay Flossy successfully distributed 350 oral hygiene kits and educational materials on dental health and applied 341 fluoride varnishes to the residents of Solano County. The program particularly gained popularity among the unhoused population, who lacked access to essential dental supplies like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss.
Stay Flossy also prioritized the significance of oral health within the scope of PA practice. By increasing awareness among PA students, the initiative provided them with a valuable opportunity for learning and practical application. Students gained a deeper understanding of how dental health influences overall well-being and acquired the skills to integrate this knowledge into their patient care. This acquired understanding is expected to have a lasting impact on their future practice, enabling them to effectively serve populations in need within primary care settings.
Stay Flossy established a crucial framework for promoting dental health in under-resourced and at-risk communities. This program’s approach is both reproducible and sustainable, particularly with access to single-use fluoride varnish.
NATIONAL DPP LIFESTYLE COACH TRAINING
BECOME A LIFESTYLE COACH
Our National DPP (Diabetes Prevention Program) Lifestyle Coach Training Program continues to offer training in a virtual setting. Thirty two coaches were trained between December 2022 and May 2023, by the Touro University California National DPP Lifestyle Coach Training Team. It may seem enduring to attend a training for 12 hours via Zoom over two or three days, however, this training effectively engages attendees in interactive sessions. Prospective Lifestyle Coaches participate in Zoom breakout rooms with small groups of peers. Hands-on activities utilizing coaching skills and practicing leading group sessions allow coaches to gain confidence in leading a group of individuals toward making meaningful lifestyle changes. To learn more about TUC’s National DPP Lifestyle Coach Training Program, please visit diabetesprevention.tu.edu. One elective course credit is available to TUC COM and COP students.
In addition to the Lifestyle Coach Training, the training team has been participating in a pilot project providing Group Coaching Certificate Training led by the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC) and the CDC to Lifestyle Coaches, who are looking to sharpen their coaching skills. This Group Coaching Certificate Training aims to enrich the experience of the coaches and participants in the year-long National DPP Lifestyle Change Program.
TUC DIABETES CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE DREAM TEAM
Our Diabetes Certificate Program – now with an “Open University” format -- restarted in March with an in-person session. We aim to cover various topics during the first half of 2023; the series of learning opportunities started with a public health topic – Health Equity: What DREAM Team is Doing in Solano County?. A popular topic – Diabetes Technology – followed, delivered as an in-person workshop. Three asynchronous modules can be accessed on the DREAM Team CANVAS platform: (1) Type 1 Diabetes; (2) Considerations for Transgender Care in Diabetes Management; (3) Insulin & Beyond. The last learning opportunity for the first half of 2023 will be an in-person workshop discussing complex clinical cases; this session will be held on June 28th in LH A at noon. Please join us!!!
If you would like to participate in the Diabetes Certificate Program, please follow these steps to obtain the detailed instructions that we presented in February 2023.
Look for “TUC-DREAM Team” icon on your CANVAS dashboard;
Look for “Diabetes Certificate Program” on the home page;
Click the “Introduction & Opening Session” link (this page has all the information you need to know for starting and completing the Certificate Program;
Please watch the recording and read the documents posted on this page.
2023 ADCES CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE
TUC SAYS "PRESENT" AT A DIABETES STATE CONFERENCE
Touro University California was well-represented at an annual diabetes conference put together by the California Coordinating Board of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist in May in Berkeley, CA. The conference theme was “50 Years of Making a Difference for People with Diabetes.” Joining the effort to make a difference, representatives from TUC presented on topics from pediatrics to population health. Dean Tami Hendriksz presented on The Adult Co-Morbidities of Pediatric Diabetes, emphasizing the transition from pediatric to adult care for youth diagnosed with diabetes. Dr. Jay Shubrook shared a presentation on Starting and Maximizing CGMs in Your Practice, discussing the best practices for CGM reports and interpretation. Dr. Clipper Young gave a presentation on the work the DREAM Team and TUC have been doing in the diabetes space in Solano County, titled Serving the Underserved With or At-Risk for Diabetes: An Interprofessional Journey in Population Health. The presentations were well received. Close to 100 healthcare professionals in California attended this conference, including a few of our very own Touro alumni. We are very grateful for the opportunity to present, showcasing the expertise of our campus.
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF DIABETOLOGY
ADVANCING THE FIELD OF DIABETOLOGY
The American College of Diabetology(ACD) is a physician-led nonprofit organization passionate about maintaining high standards in diabetes clinical care to improve the lives of those affected by diabetes. Touro University California (TUC) faculty, Dr. Jay Shubrook and Dr. Sumera Ahmed serve on the ACD board.
ACD is working at a fast pace to further expand and promote diabetology training since being awarded generous funding by The Helmsley Charitable Trust (HCT). There is now an opportunity to build new diabetology fellowship programs with seed funding from HCT. Application for new programs can be made on acdiabetology.org website.
The board members have exhibited their presence at several nationally and internationally recognized meetings - American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians 60th Annual Convention and Scientific Seminars in Florida in March 2023 and at American College of Physicians Internal Medicine meeting in San Diego, CA in April 2023. ACD will also have its presence at the American Diabetes Association 83rd Scientific Sessions in San Diego in June and American Academy of Family Physicians national conference in Kansas City in July 2023. There has been a tremendous interest in pursuing diabetology training and certification since the establishment of The American College of Diabetology.
ACD will offer its first nationwide board exam in December 2023 in conjunction with NBOME and Pearson VUE centers. The board eligibility requirements are available on acdiabetology.org. We are also excited to offer ACD’s First Annual Conference on October 21st and 22nd of this year. This will be held in Raleigh, NC. Day one will focus on board review and Day two will focus on Continuing Medical Education (CME) with nationally and internationally recognized speakers.
If you are interested in more information about the various Diabetology Fellowship programs, visit acdiabetology.org/ and for the program offered at TUC, visit https://tu.edu/community-outreach/diabetes-dream-team/diabetology-fellowship/.
Newsletter Credits
Editor: Sumera Ahmed, MD.
Designer: Maryelli Ray
Sponsor by: Sutter Health and The California Department of Public Health
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