The diabetes education program at UK Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center is led by a team of diabetes care and education specialists. These specialists work with individual patients to gain an understanding of their needs and lifestyle. Using this information, educators create a plan to help ensure each patient is successfully managing their diabetes.

Education about diabetes self-management is guided by the seven self-care behaviors identified by the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists. These behaviors, which range from eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly to taking medications as prescribed, are all explored in our diabetes education programs and resources, which include:

• Diabetes Self-Management Education. A team of experts at UK Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center provides people of all ages with the resources and information they need to effectively self-manage diabetes. This diabetes education program includes group classes; one-on-one sessions; specialized training about insulin, the use of insulin pumps and how to use blood glucose-monitoring equipment; and help with diabetes management in special cases, such as during pregnancy.
• National Diabetes Prevention Program. Are you at a high risk of developing diabetes due to a family history of the condition or another risk factor like high blood pressure? This 12-month guided program can help you recognize your risk factors and take steps to lower your risk. With help from diabetes care and education specialists, you’ll learn how to become more physically active and eat a healthier diet.
• Diabetes nutrition. Healthy eating plays an important role in both preventing diabetes and managing it. Learn what foods to eat more of and what foods to eat less of to keep your blood glucose level under control. Since excess blood glucose, also known as blood sugar, can increase your risk for other serious health issues, such as heart disease, proper nutrition is essential. We also offer cooking classes. Our nutrition experts regularly partner with chefs from the Learning Kitchen at the University of Kentucky Food Connection to offer cooking classes featuring diabetes-friendly foods.
• Technology trainings. Our diabetes care and education specialists can help patients learn about using the newest technologies, including continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps. Assessment sessions are a valuable way to learn which technologies best suit your lifestyle and care goals. During CGM education sessions, you can learn to initiate your device and use its features, including apps, trend arrows, and time in range to get the most out of the CGM. During insulin pump education sessions, which range up to 2½ hours, patients meet with a certified pump trainer. The trainer can assist you in dosing parameters and using many of the pump’s features.
• Know Your Risk for Diabetes. Take a quick, easy assessment to help you learn about your risk. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), around 27,000 Kentuckians are diagnosed with diabetes each year. Knowing whether you are at an increased risk of developing diabetes can help you take steps to lower your risk. Assessment can help you learn about your risk.
• Diabetes resources. Managing diabetes requires carefully following your medical team’s guidance about checking your blood glucose and taking medications to keep your blood glucose under control. UK Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center provides help obtaining the supplies you need to keep your diabetes in check.  

When you have questions about diabetes, we have answers. Our diabetes education team is multidisciplinary, featuring many different providers all with the same goal: providing our patients with the tools they need to successfully manage or prevent diabetes.

Physicians, nurses, diabetes care and education specialists, dietitians, pharmacists, and other providers team together to help our patients improve their health – and we do it right here in the community, close to home.