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Diabetes Tools
Education
Whether you have type 1, type 2 or
gestational diabetes, the ValleyCare
Diabetes Education Program is here to
help you achieve optimal long-term
health. Through personalized care and
individual treatment plans, our goal is
to equip you with skills and tools that
fit your lifestyle, enabling you to control
your blood sugar and lower the risk of
diabetes-related complications.
We offer a teamof trained professionals,
including physicians, registered nurses,
registered dietitians, certified diabetes
educators and social workers.
Self-Management
Our programs, taught by certified
diabetes educators, teach you to:
Use a personalized meal plan
Monitor your blood sugar
Control hemoglobin A1C, cholesterol
and triglycerides
Use medications effectively
Manage stress
Prevent and reduce complications
Be more physically active
Group classes and a diabetes support
group meet regularly. Individual classes
are available by appointment,
and free community
education seminars
are held periodically.
Pregnancy
Affiliated with the California Diabetes and
Pregnancy Program, the Sweet Success
Program offers education and support
for women diagnosed with gestational
diabetes (high blood glucose levels
detected during pregnancy) and women
with diabetes who become pregnant.
InsulinPumpTherapy
Certified diabetes educators teach you
how to adjust your insulin doses to fit
your lifestyle, allowing for more flexible
management of your diabetes. If eligible,
you will learn the skills required for
successful blood glucose management
using an insulin pump.
Medical NutritionTherapy
A registered dietitian will meet with you
to assess your nutritional needs, provide
education, and help you set realistic
goals and strategies for success.
I N S I D E
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Now inDublin
ValleyCare opens new locations
in theTri-Valley
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Clinical Integration
Programprovides help
after patient care
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SleepTight!
Center o ers insight into
sleeping di culties
I
n a world of technological advances, where news breaks on Twit-
ter half an hour before the press can report it, it’s hard to believe
that medical myths about diabetes still abound.
But according to Crystal Clearwater, RN, a certi ed diabetes
educator for ValleyCare Health System, ghting these myths is one
of the most challenging aspects of her work. “People come here
with a lot of misconceptions surrounding diabetes,” Clearwater
says. “There are a lot of old wives’ tales still circulating out there—
even among health care professionals.”
JUST THE FACTS
Some of the most common misbeliefs
about developing diabetes, she says, are
that insulin is horrible, you’ll lose your
feet and go blind, you can never eat sugar
again, you ate too much sugar in the rst
place, and the diagnosis is a death sentence.
None of these are true.
“The fear and guilt of judgment and
complications runs across all ages and
ethnicities,” Clearwater says. “Yet the truth
is you can prevent complications.”
LIFELONG LEARNING
And she should know. Clearwater—one of ve full-time certi ed
diabetes educators on staff at ValleyCare—has been living with
type 1 diabetes since she was 9 years old, and it’s her job is to teach
people how to avoid complications through diet, exercise and medi-
cation. It’s not always as easy as it sounds. This is where she and the
other educators at the center can make a profound difference in the
lives of patients.
For many patients, it can be an emotional roller coaster trying
to maintain the “perfect numbers.” Clearwater understands how
important it is for people to have a place they can go to get support
so they can live ful lling lives. “And they need a lot of it,” she says.
Clearwater helps guide her patients away from the idea of a pass-
fail, good-bad standard and toward a healthier, kinder perspective.
“People often think diabetes is black and white,” she says. “But the
numbers are not always going to turn out the way you thought. You
may do everything right, and they’re still off. It’s not textbook.”
Clearwater’s passion is fueled by her own experience. “I’ve used
everything—syringe and vial, Inject-ease, insulin pens and insulin
pumps. I’ve gone through a thousand different models. When they
come up with new technology, I’m right there with it.”
She readily admits there was a time she hated having diabetes.
She became a nurse partly because of that—but also because she
recalled her diabetes-related hospitaliza-
tions at ValleyCare as a child and the
wonderful nurses who cared for her.
IN GOOD HANDS
It is this, as well as ValleyCare’s proac-
tive stance and ongoing commitment to
improvement for the diabetes commu-
nity, that inspires her to this day.
“Most hospitals do not have a certi-
ed diabetes educator on staff,” she says.
“But for ValleyCare it’s a priority.”
One of her patients, Shauna Corona,
had lived with type 1 diabetes for
11 years before coming to Clearwater.
“I had read about the complications of having diabetes and preg-
nancy and wanted to make sure I did everything possible to ensure
my baby was born happy and healthy,” Corona says. “[Clear-
water] could relate to every one of my frustrations in managing
this condition.”
“I knew diabetes from the patient side,” says Clearwater, herself
a mother of two little boys. “Now I know it from the nurse’s side.
It’s been great. It was meant to be.”
The ValleyCare Diabetes Education Programhas been recognized
by the American Diabetes Association. A doctor’s referral is
required for group classes and individual appointments. You are
welcome to attend the support group and community seminars
without referral.
For more information, call
925 416 6710
or visit
www.valleycare.com/diabetes.
ValleyCare certified diabetes educator Crystal
Clearwater, RN, has diabetes herself and can
personally relate to her patient’s concerns.
She graduated fromChabot College Nursing
Program Extended Campus at ValleyCare, and
her service dog, Dela, is fromDogs For Diabetes.
Living well with diabetes is both an art and a science
Demystifying
Diabetes
SERV ING THE TR I VALLEY AND SURROUNDING COMMUNI T I ES WI TH MEDI CAL FAC I L I T I ES IN L I VERMORE , PLEASANTON AND DUBL IN
Summer 2012
Health
Ways