Diabetes Education & Nutritional Counseling
Managing Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
Samaritan’s Diabetes Education services help make managing diabetes easier. Our diabetes educators teach adults and children who have been diagnosed with Type 1, Type 2, or gestational diabetes how to take the best care of themselves. Patients learn about their diagnosis, how to self-manage their diabetes, and how to work with their healthcare team to get the support they need.
The best time for patients to receive diabetes education and support is when they are diagnosed, as part of their annual assessment, when their treatment or healthcare team changes, and when new complications arise.
Studies have shown that diabetes education helps people lower their blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels—helping them stay healthier and reducing the risk of complications.
Some of the skills patients will learn include:
- Healthy eating
- Being active
- Monitoring blood sugar, reducing A1c, and increasing time in range
- Taking medication (oral, insulin, and other injectable non-insulin medications)
- Problem solving
- Healthy coping of emotions
- Reducing risk of other serious health problems
- Incorporating diabetes technology into self-management
- Insulin-pump therapy
- Continuous glucose monitoring
Nutritional Counseling:
Samaritan’s Nutritional Counseling provides children and adults with the education and tools to form healthier eating habits that help manage certain medical conditions and improve overall health. Our registered dietitian nutritionist provides individualized nutritional assessments, diagnoses, and customized nutritional care plans.
During nutritional counseling, patients learn about the importance nutrition plays in managing their conditions, the benefits of eating healthier, and how to change their eating habits.
Some of the conditions that may benefit from nutritional counseling include:
- Diabetes (Types I and II)
- Gestational Diabetes
- Pre-Diabetes
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
- Celiac disease
- Crohn’s Disease
- Food allergies
- Weight loss/weight management
To learn more, talk to your primary care provider or call (509) 793-9605.