Douglas Sytsma, Quality Improvement Manager and Thamary Correa-Johnson, RN, BSN, Director of Clinical Quality
Each year, Grace Health hosts an event on World Diabetes Day, November 14, to help raise awareness of diabetes in the community. Thamary Correa-Johnson and Douglas Sytsma, co-chairs of Grace Health’s World Diabetes Day Event, worked with the Grace Health Team and community partners (Cereal City Sunrise Rotary Club, Exact Sciences, Meridian, Molina Healthcare, United Healthcare Community Plan, and Novo Nordisk) to provide various services, close gaps in care for patients with diabetes, and educate attendees about diabetes. Grace Health served 48 patients during the event. Services provided at this year’s event included pre-diabetes risk test from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), diabetes foot exam, diabetes labs, medication review by a pharmacist, nurse support, consultation for best food choices, answers to general diabetes questions from a medical provider, connections to community resources, and prizes.
World Diabetes Day is the world’s largest awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over 1 billion people in over 160 countries. Every year the event is November 16, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922. World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization and became an official United Nations Day in 2006. (https://worlddiabetesday.org/about-wdd/)
To learn more about Grace Health and services provided, visit the website at www.gracehealthmi.org