Southern Illinois Healthcare

Tackling Diabetes Through Partnership

With nearly 984,000 Illinois adults diagnosed with diabetes—9.1 percent of the state’s population—Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) is raising awareness about this serious chronic condition and bringing resources to tackle it through partnerships with six local health departments serving the state’s 15 southernmost counties.

The partnerships help create or expand Diabetes Today Resource Teams in the region, with SIH funding directed to support staff dedicated to implementing the evidenced-based Stanford Chronic Disease Management program. Grants and assistance to the health departments help continue or expand chronic disease programming, provide additional community based resources for individuals living with diabetes and assist those individuals with using clinical resources more effectively.

SIH works with each health department to accomplish several goals, including:

• Training staff on implementing the Stanford model;
• Promoting National Diabetes Awareness Month and Diabetes Alert Day;
• Providing guidance in developing the Diabetes Today five-year plan; and
• Facilitating collaboration with other counties to maintain the Diabetes Today Resource material for the southernmost 15 Illinois counties.

Along with targeted outreach efforts to populations at high risk for chronic conditions, the partnerships have resulted in over 1,400 people getting screened for diabetes and over 350 people attending a six-week diabetes management class.