Metro Health Receives National Award for Diabetes Care

WYOMING, MI, November 06, 2010 (Press-News.org) Metro Health has received the Merck Excellence in Diabetes Care Award for 2010 from the American Osteopathic Foundation.

The award recognizes Metro Health's Diabetes Management Program for its work in advancing diabetes education and treatment and includes a check for $10,000 that Metro will use to continue to help fund patient outreach.

Metro's program utilizes a team approach to provide the most complete and highest quality of care. Qualified physicians, nurses and educators work alongside one another to ensure comprehensive care to all diabetes patients. This approach has already garnered Metro Health the national designation of Diabetes Center for Excellence in 2006.

"We continue to take pride in the level of care provided through our Diabetes Management Program, and the tremendous efforts of our physicians, nurses and educators in advancing this program everyday," said Dr. Frank Belsito, executive vice president of Metro Health Systems. "Our approach is truly a team effort and empowers patients to be able to manage their own care. We have been able to achieve excellent results for our patients who suffer from diabetes."

Metro Health has been designated as a Diabetic Center of Excellence twice by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. The hospital currently has 22 physicians who have completed the NCQA Diabetes Recognition Program and 45 who are designated as patient centered medical homes through NCQA. The program also has a team of certified diabetes educators, including three nurses and two dietitians, who work closely with primary care physicians to provide continuity of care and support to patients, improving their chances at success in managing their disease.

Michigan has the 11th highest diabetes prevalence rate in the nation. According to the Michigan Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, it is ranked as the state's sixth leading cause of death. More than 12 percent of the total adult population has diabetes.

Every year, Metro Health's Diabetes Management Program cares for 3,500-plus adult patients with Type 1, Type 2, pre-diabetes or gestational diabetes. Services have been expanded from greater Grand Rapids area to include the surrounding counties of Ottawa and Allegan. In those three counties alone, it is estimated that more than 58,000 adults are living with diabetes. Metro's diabetes services are readily available to all patients in this growing service area.

"With a large team of quality caregivers Metro Health has positioned itself on the frontlines of diabetes care, providing a comprehensive approach to diabetes prevention, treatment, education and self-management," said Mike Faas, president and CEO of Metro Health. "Our program is designed to actively engage patients in every aspect of care, which helps them maintain or improve their health through their own initiative.

"A life-long disease, diabetes has an ongoing impact on a patient's quality of life and financial situation. We want to help educate at-risk patients before the onset of the disease. For already diagnosed patients, we want to help them learn how to improve their success in managing their diabetes so they can fully enjoy a long life."

About Metro Health Hospital

Metro Health Hospital is a 208-bed general acute-care osteopathic teaching hospital that serves more than 130,000 patients in Kent and surrounding counties. Metro Health, which earned status as a Top 100 Hospital for the three consecutive years, offers a broad range of services, including inpatient and outpatient services, emergency, surgery, intensive care, rehabilitation, wellness and community education. Metro's work is supported by the Metro Health Hospital Foundation, which is a charitable organization dedicated to improving the health and well being of the West Michigan community through philanthropy. For more information, visit http://www.metrohealth.net.

Sabo Public Relations is a full-service public relations company specializing in media relations, litigation communications and crisis management.