CONTACT: BARBARA GIBSON, RNC, CDE

LOUISIANA DIABETES EDUCATION PROGRAM MERITS ADA RECOGNITION

New Orleans, LA, May 18, 2000 - The prestigious American Diabetes Association Education Recognition Certificate for a quality diabetes self-management education program was recently awarded to the Louisiana program on April 25, 2000: Diabetes Patient Self-Management Education Program (DREAM Team) at R&R Home Care, Inc. ADA believes that this program offers high-quality diabetes self-management education that is an essential component of effective diabetes treatment.

The Association's Education Recognition Certificate assures that educational programs meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. These Standards were developed and tested under the auspices of the National Diabetes Advisory Board in 1983 and were revised by the diabetes community in 1994.

Programs applying for Recognition voluntarily submit to a rigorous review process by experts in the field of diabetes who evaluate each program on its ability to provide patients with a comprehensive individualized education program. Programs that achieve Recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management. The process gives professionals a national standard by which to measure the quality of services they provide and it assures the consumer that he or she will likely receive high-quality service. Education Recognition status is verified by an official certificate from ADA and is awarded for three years.

According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 15.7 million people or 5.9% of the population in the United States who have diabetes. While an estimated 10.3 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately, 5.4 million people are not aware that they have this disease. Each day approximately 2,200 people are diagnosed with diabetes. Many will first learn that they have diabetes when they are treated for one of its life-threatening complications - heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and nerve disease and amputation. About 798,000 people will be diagnosed with diabetes this year. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death (sixth leading cause of death by disease) in the United States. Based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to more than 187,000 deaths in 1995.

he American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading non-profit health organization supporting diabetes research, advocacy and information for health professionals, patients and the public. Founded in 1940, the Association has an area office in every state and conducts programs in communities nationwide.

For more information on Recognized education programs in your area or other American Diabetes Association programs, call (504) 889-0278 locally, or contact the ADA online at www.diabetes.org.

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