Diabetes Education

At Adventist Health White Memorial, we offer a variety of classes designed to help you take control of your diabetes. You will meet individually with one of our certified diabetes educators who will work closely with you to help you achieve your goal.

You will learn the following:

• Diabetes basic survival skills: This interactive three-hour class gets you familiar with all aspects of diabetes care. Participants learn the importance of self-blood glucose monitoring to control their blood sugar levels as well as the importance of taking their oral medicines and insulin as directed by their physician. Participants will also learn hyperglycemia/hypoglycemia management and nutrition basics. A referral from a physician is required to attend the class.

• Nutrition management: This interactive three-hour class teaches you how foods affect blood sugar levels. Basic nutrition for diabetes and weight control is emphasized. This class is interactive, so you’ll get to practice planning your own meals. A referral from a physician is required in order to attend the class.

• Complications & Prevention: This interactive three-hour class helps you understand the complications that can occur because of uncontrolled blood sugar levels. It also gives you tools to help prevent the onset of complications by stressing the ABC's of diabetes care:
  • Hemoglobin A1C <7
  • Blood pressure level <140/80
  • LDL (bad cholesterol) <100
  • HDL (good cholesterol) >40 for men and >50 for women
  • Triglyceride levels <150

• Surviving gestational diabetes: This interactive three-hour class teaches the management of blood glucose levels for participants with diabetes during pregnancy. You’ll learn about nutrition, insulin self-administration, self-blood glucose monitoring and goals for optimum blood-sugar control. The goal of the class is to keep both your baby and you in good health for a successful pregnancy.

Note: A physician referral is required for these classes.