Education and support play a key role in helping patients successfully manage their diabetes, whether they are newly diagnosed or have been living with diabetes for years.

“Diabetes drugs were ordered by more than 2,000 inpatients at Sunnybrook during the first six months of 2012, which tells us there is plenty of demand for diabetes support among our patients,” says Julie Paterson, a Sunnybrook diabetes nurse educator.

Sunnybrook has been working to meet that demand through the Diabetes Nurse Champions Program. The Champions have been working to improve diabetes knowledge, along with the quality of care and education provided for diabetic patients throughout the Community and Brain Sciences Programs. Nurses from a variety of areas within the hospital meet on a monthly basis to ensure inpatients are receiving an appropriate amount of education and support.

Another service available to patients is the Sunnybrook Diabetes Education Centre (SUNDEC), which offers classes and individual counseling by registered dietitians and diabetes nurse educators. The team helps patients to make healthy food choices, incorporate exercise into their daily routine, understand the role of medication, and set realistic and achievable goals. To maximize the number of patients that can benefit from this service, SUNDEC accepts patient self-referrals. The office is located in A119 and can be reached at (416) 480-4805.

An aging population – combined with rising obesity rates and sedentary lifestyles – is putting an increasing number of Canadians at risk for diabetes. In Ontario, the number of people living with diabetes is expected to rise to nearly 12 per cent of the population by 2020.

To learn more about diabetes education for patients and staff at Sunnybrook, visit the Diabetes Information Booth in the M1 lobby on World Diabetes Day on Nov. 14.