I
was a little surprised when a couple in Session 4 of my Neodesha Dining with Diabetes class relayed the message to me that their doctor, a Family Practice Physician in Neodesha, wanted me to call him. I figured I would call his office and make an appointment to speak to him at his convenience. However, when I called, I was put directly through to visit with Dr. Morehead.
His comments went something like this: Your program is wonderful and very successful. My three patients got a lot out of it and were absolutely amazed at how well organized it is. There was no negative feedback from my patients at all. Dining with Diabetes is the best thing that’s happened around here in a long time and I support it 100 percent. It is $25.00 well spent. Diabetes is a deadly disease and I am very blunt with my patients that they need to take diabetes management very seriously.
People can be told information and can read fact sheets, but until they experience it and see it for themselves (as in our cooking demonstrations and food sampling) it is hard for them to understand. My patients confirmed this. We need more of these classes and I want to know about the next ones in plenty of time because I have a bunch more patients who need these classes.
The Neodesha Dining with Diabetes class series was the result of Wildcat District Extension partnering together with Wilson Medical Center to host the series of four initial classes at the Neodesha Senior Center. We had 12 people enrolled in the class and I believe at least six of them were referred by Dr. Morehead since each of the three diabetes patients brought their spouse. In addition to our Extension curriculum, a Wilson Medical Center Telemedicine Diabetes Educator joined us by phone for part of each class to answer technical diabetes questions during three of the four sessions and, of course, she was a valuable resource for our participants. In addition to our lecture time, what sets these classes apart from others is that we prepare and taste several diabetic friendly recipes during each class.
You may remember that Dining with Diabetes is the work of a National Extension Working Group with members from several states. I became familiar with Dining with Diabetes when I attended our National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) conference in West Virginia several years ago. Another Kansas agent and I were instrumental in facilitating the process of adopting the program in Kansas and, along with our Southeast Area FCS Specialist, have trained over 50 Kansas FCS Agents in the curriculum and developed a website with materials for everyone to use in teaching Dining with Diabetes classes around the state.
Reusable
Water Bottles
Another of my activities for August included participating in a Dining with Diabetes State Leader Meeting to discuss future state-wide training events, review and make decisions about updated promotional and teaching