Southeast Missouri Hospital

Southeast Missouri Hospital’s Diabetes Center
Receives National Recognition

Southeast Missouri Hospital’s Diabetes Center has received national recognition from the American Diabetes Association.

The ADA awarded the Diabetes Center with a three-year Education Recognition Certificate. Programs that achieve Recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who provide comprehensive information about diabetes management to their clients.

The recognition process gives healthcare professionals a national standard by which to measure the quality of services they provide.

Nearly 21 million Americans have diabetes or about 7 percent of the population. Nationwide, more than 4,100 people a day are diagnosed with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Certified Diabetes Educator Janet Stewart, a registered nurse, says the national recognition demonstrates that the Diabetes Center at 15 Doctors’ Park “meets national standards.”

The center is conveniently located in the same building as Endocrinology Associates of Southeast Missouri Hospital, featuring Endocrinologists Wu Wen, MD, PhD. The location provides for seamless care of patients with diabetes. Dr. Wen says the Diabetes Center plays a key role in helping people live with diabetes.

Diabetes Center at 15 Doctors' Park

“Diabetes is a self-management disease,” says Dr. Wen.

The center helps educate people how to manage their disease and is an “integral part” of the overall treatment of patients with diabetes, he explains.

The center opened in February 2007.

Southeast’s Diabetes Center focuses on the management of patients with type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes and gestational diabetes. Particular emphasis is given to proper nutrition, exercise, monitoring for glucose control and medication therapy.

“Taking care of diabetes also means taking care of your heart,” Stewart says. The Diabetes Center staff integrates heart care, wellness and disease prevention in diabetes programming.

“Research has proven that diabetes education is effective in improving clinical outcomes and quality of life,” Stewart notes.

The Diabetes Center offers education to patients and families, providing information and support for behavior change over an extended period of time in an outpatient setting.

The center functions as an extension of physicians’ practices to positively impact the care of people with diabetes.