Diabetes Education

What is a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES)?

A Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES) is a health professional that possesses comprehensive knowledge of and experience in diabetes management, pre-diabetes, and diabetes prevention. A CDCES educates and supports people affected by diabetes to understand and manage their condition. A CDCES promotes self-management to achieve individualized behavioral and treatment goals that optimize health outcomes. A CDCES can walk you through the basics of diabetes self-management from start to finish.

Why do I need diabetes education?

During counseling, you will be introduced to different strategies to meet your individual needs. NADEC can help you develop a treatment plan to ensure your blood sugar goals are achieved. Since diet is considered the cornerstone of diabetes management, the control of your blood sugar is achieved with a meal plan that caters to your individual food preferences, lifestyle and medication schedule coupled with exercise. Eating properly and being more physically active plays a major role in keeping blood sugar levels under control, thereby helping to prevent most of the serious complications that affect your body the longer you have diabetes. Whether you have been recently diagnosed or have had diabetes for a while, the more educated you are on effective self-care behaviors, the better chance you’ll have to live a healthy life despite the diabetes. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with diabetes, you can be one of the thousands of people we have helped live a healthier life, resulting in better diabetes control, and in many cases reversing their diabetes diagnosis

Patients who attended our Diabetes Self-Management Program experienced a significant improvement in many areas of their health:

  • Lowered their blood sugar and A1C significantly
  • Lost weight (Reduced fat and improved muscle mass)
  • Developed an exercise plan they could live with
  • Decreased symptoms associated with diabetes
  • Learned how to control their blood glucose with diet and exercise
  • Improved mental function and memory
  • Improved total cholesterol, lowered triglycerides and LDL levels.
  • Learned techniques to deal with emotional aspects of diabetes

Individual Counseling

Individuals are scheduled for one-on-one counseling with the registered dietitian and/or CDCES. During these visits it is a time for the educator to address personal issues which were not covered during group education. Our patients have great outcomes due mainly to the fact that we meet each individual where they are and develop a plan that fits their lifestyle and food preferences.

Diabetes Self-Management Classes

This program is designed for individuals in all stages of diabetes. Whether you have been coping with diabetes for years or you’re newly diagnosed, this program will give you a greater understanding of the disease and how to control it through diet, exercise and improved self-management skills. The diabetes program follows the guidelines recommended by the American Diabetes Association in accordance with the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a temporary form of diabetes that can develop in some women during the later stage of  pregnancy.  Our team has developed a program to help manage gestational diabetes through extensive training and education.  Registered Dietitians-Nutritionist along with CDCES use the latest resources and the expertise to help you have the best outcome when it comes to controlling gestational diabetes and ensuring a healthy delivery.