Province kicks in more cash for diabetes education

By Crystal Clavet

The Centretown Community Health Centre will receive $48,250 for its citywide diabetes education program as part of a new provincial government funding initiative.

The program provides information to adults with Type 2 diabetes about eating healthily and managing their disease.

Last month, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced it would be spending $8.3 million on community-based diabetes education programs.

Marguarite Keeley, executive director for the health centre, says the funding is very important for diabetes programming.

“It gives support to programs on the front lines,” she says. “Programs in the past have not been funded up to the level, but this is a huge step forward.”

The funding is on top of the $900,000 the health centre received earlier in the year from the province for diabetes outreach, which Keeley says allows for the program to triple in size.

The diabetes education program provides access to dieticians and nurses and teaches those with Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes how to manage their disease with healthy food and exercise. The group also provides support and counselling. Keeley says controlling diet and exercise is crucial to managing Type 2 diabetes.

Without proper management, Type 2 diabetes can lead to heart disease, blindness and kidney problems.

During the last six months, in locations across Ottawa, 90 groups of 1,000 people have participated in the diabetes program, and there have been 500 follow-ups.

Keeley says the new funding will allow the health centre to rent more space for the groups to meet in.

The diabetes centre currently runs the program in the east and west ends, as well as downtown, and needs more permanent space in order to accommodate all of its patients.

Supporting education programs now means less demand for health expenses later, she says. Keeley says education will mean fewer trips to the emergency room, because when people understand diabetes, they have less need to seek help.

Jeremy Brace, a marketing and communications co-ordinator for the Canadian Diabetes Association, says he is encouraged by this support for people living with diabetes.

More funding for diabetes education means people are more likely to see professionals, he says.

“There is no guarantee you will see a diabetes expert in an emergency room,” Brace says. “The outcome will be better care [because it will] take pressure off access points.”

Brace says when they do need help, they can turn to community health centres because the centres have the expertise, and more importantly, patient history, as opposed to emergency rooms where doctors may not know much about a patient’s file.

The province also allocated $141,600 to the Centretown location to hire a new clinical nurse co-ordinator.

These recent funding announcements are part of the province’s three priorities to revamp public health care: providing better access to doctors, reducing wait times and keeping Ontarians healthier.

Investing in community health is important for increasing access to care and doctors, says Jeff Rohrer, a media advisor for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

“Because of the complex nature of the diabetes and disease management, it’s in everyone’s best interest to invest,” says Rohrer.

Keeley says by funding community health care and the diabetes program, the government is recognizing the role community health centres play in primary care.

“They’re recognizing that we take the strain off emergency rooms by supporting community health care,” says Keeley,

Over the last month, the province has added funding to shorten wait times, add hospital beds, repair hospitals and improve medical coverage.