Nonprofit gets grant to help fight diabetes
Funds from Kaiser Foundation will go to educational efforts
Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers thanked Kaiser Foundation Hospitals on Thursday for another grant in support of diabetes education for those less fortunate.
Samuel Dixon has provided health care to low-income families for more than 40 years. The $5,000 grant for the center’s Diabetes Education Department was just the latest example of community support that makes health centers’ operations possible, said Philip Solomon, CEO of Samuel Dixon.
“We do a lot with the underserved population in our community, in particular,” Solomon said. “One of the things that we’ve found in treating these families is that there’s a high prevalence of diabetes, which led us to look at other programs that we need to look at to incorporate into our treatment, to help them with their diabetes. We needed to educate.”
Kaiser has been a big supporter of Samuel Dixon’s mission, Solomon said, thanking the hospital for this current grant and one last year that was also supported by Kaiser, a $10,000 grant that assisted the health centers in getting equipment to help provide eye care, which is another regular need for those with diabetes.
“That (grant) allowed us to buy a retinal scanning machine and contracting with an opthamologist,” Solomon said, noting eye care is another critical area of health impacted by diabetes. And, low-income families could wait for months for such care without the help of Samuel Dixon, which helps patients every day with such concerns.
The funding allows for an expansion of services in some cases, and in the case of the education program, it’ll allow the health centers to grow programs they’ve been working on locally through the center’s locations in Canyon Country, Newhall and Val Verde.
Samuel Dixon began offering weekly classes in English and Spanish in October 2017 in response to the needs of this target population, according to the health centers.
In addition to education and awareness, the two-hour group discussion covers diabetes misconceptions, co-morbidities, nutrition education, reading food labels and the role of exercise.
The grant also supports the creation of a “custom profile” for patients with a detailed discussion on the role and goal of the following measures: HgbA1c, blood pressure target, cholesterol/CVD risk, renal function/microalbuminuria, dental exams, yearly diabetic retinal screenings and yearly foot exams.
“We’ve been doing workshops with (our patients) and helping them learn about how to manage their condition, education materials,” he said, “and resources for our patients.”
One of the things that we’ve found in treating these families is that there’s a high prevalence of diabetes, which led us to look at other programs that we need to look at to incorporate into our treatment, to help them with their diabetes.” Philip Solomon,
CEO of Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers