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Diabetes Education
Island Hospital’s Diabetes Education Program is accredited by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE). Diabetes Education is a collaborative process through which people with, or at-risk for diabetes, gain the knowledge and skills needed to modify behavior and successfully self-manage the disease and its related conditions.
 
If you have or are at risk of developing diabetes, there are positive steps you can take and resources here in our community you can use. The Diabetes Education Program at Island Hospital can help you live better with your diabetes and support you every step of the way with options, answers and education.


Join the 'Conversation'

In addition to individual sessions, Diabetes Education at Island Hospital also features group classes that use Conversation Maps to engage you and other participants on a personal level. You will focus on the health information most relevant to you and relate it to your own experience. At the end of the session, you will create a plan to help you reach your goal.


Program Information
  • Physician referral is required.
  • Medicare and most insurance plans cover the outpatient Diabetes Education Program.

Living Healthier with Diabetes

The number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the U.S. rose from 1.5 million in 1958 to 17.9 million in 2007, and it's estimated that 5.7 million other Americans have the disease but don't know it.

That's an increase of epidemic proportions. But at Island Hospital's Diabetes Education Program, trained staff are helping people with the disease learn what they need to know to stay healthy and reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications.

Those complications can be serious and include blindness, kidney damage, cardiovascular disease and lower-limb amputations. But according to Anita McCoy, RN, MN, CDE, program coordinator of the IH Diabetes Education Program, the risk of these complications can be lowered by adopting certain self-care behaviors:
  • Healthy eating
  • Problem solving
  • Being active
  • Reducing risks
  • Monitoring
  • Healthy coping
  • Taking medication
 
Turn Knowledge into Action

At Island Hospital our Diabetes Educators will help you with:
  • Reading food labels and meal planning
  • Planning an exercise program
  • Understanding your medications
"Our outpatient program is designed to help people learn to live well with diabetes. We offer individual and group sessions to help people learn to effectively manage their disease and lead fuller, healthier lives." --- Anita McCoy, Certified Diabetes Educator for more than 20 years.


A Patient's Story

Meet Jean Johansen. An artist whose work has been shown in a local gallery, Jean began to gain weight and experience periods of fatigue. A complete blood test led to a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. Read more.



 

Contact Us

Diabetes Education Program
2511 M Avenue
Anacortes, WA  98221

(360) 588-2083

Email: diabetes-ed@islandhospital.org