Facey Medical Foundation Diabetes
Education Program Merits ADA Recognition

-- Program for diabetes self-management given stamp of approval for 3 more years --

MISSION HILLS, Calif., June 6, 2005 – Facey Medical Foundation announced today that their Patient Education program received the prestigious American Diabetes Association (ADA) Education Recognition Certificate for a quality diabetes self-management education program. The Facey program was first awarded Recognition by the ADA in April of 2002. It offers high-quality diabetes self-management education that is an essential component of effective diabetes treatment.

The Association's Education Recognition Certificate assures that educational programs meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. These standards were developed and tested under the auspices of the National Diabetes Advisory Board in 1983 and revised by the diabetes community in 1994 and 2000. Education Recognition status is verified by an official certificate from ADA and is awarded for three years.

Programs apply for Recognition voluntarily. Programs that achieve Recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management. “The process gives us a national standard by which to measure the quality of services we provide,” said Sherry Kelven, RN, Facey's director of patient education. “And of course, it assures the community that they will likely find and understand the tools they need to manage their diabetes and maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 18.2 million people (or 6.3% of the population) in the United States who have diabetes. While an estimated 13 million have been diagnosed, the remaining 5.2 million are unaware that they have the disease. Each day, approximately 3,561 people are diagnosed with diabetes, which translates to about 1.3 million people per year. Many will first learn that they have diabetes when they are treated for one of its life-threatening complications – heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and nerve disease and amputation. Diabetes is the fifth-deadliest disease in the United States and it has no cure. Based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to more than 213,062 deaths in 2000.

Facey's diabetes education program is available to all patients of Facey Medical Group and is regularly offered in Mission Hills, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel. A physician referral is required, so talk to your Facey doctor about your eligibility for this program. Your health insurance may cover all or part of the cost of the program Check your benefits or call your Member Services department for more information.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that there was no cost for this program. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.