State provides 50,000 in diabetes education grants


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SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
FOR RELEASE: April 1, 2004
CONTACT: Colleen Winter, 773-3737

State provides $50,000 in diabetes education grants

     PIERRE – Six hospitals and clinics in South Dakota will share $59,364 in grants to enhance community and professional diabetes education efforts, the Department of Health announced today.

     The grants come through the department’s Diabetes Prevention and Control Program which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The grant program is in its second year and has provided more than $87,000 to facilities.

To be eligible, facilities must either be recognized by the department as providing diabetes self-management education in accordance with national standards or be a Community Health Center focusing on diabetes management.  Since 2001, 15 facilities have obtained recognition from the Department of Health, which allows them to bill Medicaid and other insurance payers for diabetes education.

     Grant recipients include:

  • Prairie Community Health, with clinics in Isabel, Eagle Butte, Faith, Bison and McIntosh, will receive $10,430 to provide professional education and purchase educational materials. 
  • Black Hills Medical Clinic/Northern Hills General Hospital in Deadwood will receive $12,600 to provide community-based diabetes education. 
  • Custer Community Hospital will receive $6,930 to provide community-based education about pre-diabetes, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 
  • St. Michaels’s Hospital in Tyndall will receive $11,404 to promote foot care for people with diabetes, promote screening for diabetes and other chronic diseases, and prevent obesity through exercise and wellness education.   
  • Madison Community Hospital will receive $15,000 to provide community-based diabetes and cardiovascular disease education as well as professional education. 
  • Union County Health Foundation, with clinics in Elk Point and Alcester, will receive $3,000 to upgrade their diabetes case management capabilities.

     For more information about diabetes contact the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program at 1-800-738-2301 or visit the web at www.sddiabetes.net.