Diabetes Center

Diabetes is a serious disease, but it can be managed successfully. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), diabetes affects some 16 million Americans - five million of whom don't even know they have the disease. Left untreated, diabetes can contribute to a wide range of conditions, including heart disease, kidney disease, amputations, blindness and other serious problems.

Comprehensive Services
Sacred Heart Hospital’s Diabetes Center offers a full range of inpatient and outpatient treatment and educational services for people with diabetes.

One-on-one instruction in:
Insulin administration
Mixing of insulins, insulin pens
Self-monitoring of blood glucose
Meal planning
Diabetes and pregnancy
Other Group topics include:
Understanding diabetes
Individualized meal planning with ADA guidelines
Medication use
Sick-day management
Exercise, foot and skin care
Behavior modification
Preventing complications
Holidays, eating out and traveling
Label reading and smart food shopping
Coping with diabetes
Community resources

What are the benefits?
Our specially trained diabetes professionals offer long experience and the most up-to-date options for treating diabetes, including:

• A program built on the best medical research available
• Skills for day-to-day self care management
• Comprehensive education for family members at no extra cost
• Support and guidance from other people with diabetes
• Educational classes and literature in Spanish (clases y literatura educativas en Español)
• Free 3- and 12-month follow-up classes

Convenient access and hours
Our centrally located office on the third floor of Sacred Heart Hospital offers ample free parking and convenient office hours by appointment. We also feature morning, mid-afternoon and evening educational classes to accommodate busy schedules.

What is the next step?
Physician referral is necessary for either individual or group education, and may be helpful for insurance reimbursement. Most insurance companies will cover the services provided by the Diabetes Center, but you may wish to contact your insurance carrier to verify coverage. We believe these classes are important, and therefore will make payment arrangements based on your ability to pay. In any case, we feel strongly that the diabetes education services are important to maintaining your health.