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Mission: To improve the health, function, and quality of life of Fulton and DeKalb county residents living with, at risk for, or affected by, diabetes.
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October 2015 Newsletter
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Mercy Care Fall Festival: Saturday, October 17th
Mercy Care Services is hosting its annual Fall Festival this Saturday, October 17th from 10 am to 2 pm at its downtown location, 424 Decatur Street. Many free services will be provided including mammograms, Pap smears, flu shots in addition to screenings for vision, HIV, diabetes, blood pressure, and behavioral health. Activities for the entire family are scheduled and lunch will be provided. For the Fall Festival flyer, click here.
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DCAC Quarterly Meeting: Tuesday, October 27th
Join us for the DCAC Quarterly Meeting to be held:
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October 27th from 11 am to 12:30 pm
Mechanicsville Branch Library
1st floor Meeting Room
400 Formwalt Street SW
Atlanta, GA 30312
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Our Guest Speaker will be Nick Goodwin, Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator with the Atlanta Enrollment Assistance Center. Come for the latest information on the Open Enrollment period beginning on November 1st and extending to January 31, 2016.
Newcomers are especially welcome!
Networking follows the meeting until 1 pm.
Free diabetes prevention and self-management education materials will be available along with handouts on finding affordable health insurance, transitioning to Medicare, and resources for the uninsured. For more info, contact Vicki Karnes at 740-807-1054.
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DCAC Supports Fulton County School Nurses
Every public school in Georgia must ensure that children with diabetes receive safe care and equal opportunities to participate in all school activities. In order to fulfill this legal requirement, at least two staff members from each school attended by a child with diabetes must be trained to follow a Medical Management Plan written by the child's doctor. The trained staff members are then tasked with providing the same diabetes care for the child as a parent would provide. See: Guidelines for Care Needed for Students with Diabetes.
DCAC supports the training of Fulton County school staff in response to a request from Lynn Meadows, RN, MS, Coordinator of Student Health Services, to provide teaching supplies and ongoing support for the classes.
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October is Health Literacy Awareness Month
Health literacy is the extent to which individuals have the knowledge and ability to locate, process and understand health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions and manage personal health. This includes understanding how to effectively use health insurance coverage, as well as how to navigate the health care system.
Inadequate health literacy skills are associated with poor health status, so it is essential that all health care providers and support staff understand the need to use plain language and ensure that patients understand information. One way to do this is by using the "teach-back" method where the practitioner provides information and then asks the patient to repeat the information back in an effort to confirm the patient's understanding.
DCAC Co-chair, Dr. Glenda Knight, professionally trained and skilled in various aspects of health literacy and a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Alliance for Health Literacy (GAHL), recently facilitated a presentation entitled "Health Literacy Awareness: The need to create health literate environments" for the Georgia Hospital Association's monthly educational webinar. The presentation was designed to raise awareness among health care professionals about the need for more effective patient-provider communication. To view her informative PowerPoint, click here.
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Medicare Initiative to Prevent Hypoglycemia
The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Initiative to prevent adverse drug effects (ADEs) includes certain diabetes medications that can cause hypoglycemia. DCAC is working with Alliant Quality, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Georgia, to raise awareness using health literacy strategies to reduce consequences of severe hypoglycemia which include Emergency Room visits and hospital admissions.
Michael Crooks, PharmD with Alliant Quality, will be speaking on the Initiative at the Metro ATL Community Health Care Connections (CHCC) meeting on Tuesday, October 20th, beginning at 2 pm at the United Way building,100 Edgewood Ave. NE, in Atlanta.
DCAC member, Jennifer Curry, formerly with the Atlanta Regional Commission, now works with Alliant Quality and coordinates the Metro Atlanta CHCC group meetings. Learn more.
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Next DCAC Quarterly Meeting:
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Tuesday, January 26th
11 am - 1 pm
Mechanicsville Branch Library
Atlanta, GA 30312
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Ongoing Partner Programs
Georgia Diabetes Coalition Meeting: Oct. 21st,10 am to 12 pm.
Mercy Care Services,424 Decatur Street NE, 30312. Learn more.
Big Rewards, Small Steps, YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program.
Get tools for healthy living and cut risk for Type 2 Diabetes in half.
Program Director is Linda Vaughn: 404-267-5345. Learn more.
Free Diabetes Self-Management Education Classes
Southside Medical Center, 1046 Ridge Ave. SW, Atlanta 30315
Held on 2nd & 4th Thursday of every month. Open to the public.
Contact Myrtle Wilder, FNP, CDE, at (404) 688-1350.
For more information about Southside Medical Center, click here.
Everyone with Diabetes Counts Class for Medicare Beneficiaries: Free 6-week class is led by trained Peer Educators. To find a free class, call Jessica Knopf at 1-888-313-9355 or click here.
Morehouse Community Health Worker Train-the-Trainer Class: Monday - Thursday, Oct. 26th - 29th. Participants in this training will gain knowledge and skills to
support adults at risk for, or living with, Type 2 Diabetes and/or
cardiovascular disease. Training is ongoing for the next two years.
Contact Dr. Pamela Daniels at pdaniels@msm.edu. C.U.B.S. Diabetes Support Group meets monthly on 2nd Thursday.
To learn more, click here.
Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes: Sat., Nov. 14th at Turner Field.
Annual event sponsored by the American Diabetes Association.
To register and learn more, see: STOP DIABETES.
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Support the work of DCAC !
Tax-deductible donations to support the work of DCAC may be
made in the form of a check to the Georgia Diabetes Coalition.
For more information, call us at 740-807-1054.
Donations by credit card directly to DCAC are not tax-deductible,
but are gratefully accepted through the link to
DCAC's PayPal account below.
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Stay Connected:
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To receive DCAC e-mail Announcements and/or the Monthly Newsletter, sign up here.
To view previous DCAC Newsletters, see the Newsletter Archive.
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For community resources and support to prevent diabetes and
its complications; for information on affordable health care, resources for the uninsured, or the transition to Medicare,
call us at 740-807-1054 or visit www.dcacfulton.org.
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The Diabetes Community Action Coalition, Inc. is
the local chapter of the Georgia Diabetes Coalition.
DCAC is one of six Coalitions of the Health Promotion Action Coalition in Fulton County. Other Coalitions include the Asthma, Healthy Heart, Smoke-Free, Interfaith, and Safe Kids Coalitions.
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