Grantee:

Diabetes Management Solutions – The Diabetes Bus

(Raleigh)

Current Grant:

Five-year, $660,000 (2006)

Project:

Deliver free, certified diabetes education to underserved areas

Impact:

The Diabetes Bus delivers free, certified diabetes education to rural, high need communities where patients have difficulty getting services. The program’s outreach initiative, entitled the Reaching Communities Project, is expanding as a result of a five-year partnership with the BCBSNC Foundation. The grant follows a two-year, Triangle-based pilot project that was also funded by the Foundation.   

Over the past year, the Diabetes Bus has experienced unprecedented growth with diabetes education class participation increasing by 130 percent.  During the program’s two-year pilot, class participants with uncontrolled diabetes experienced a 2.6 percent average drop in HbA1c levels. According to the group’s research, a one percent drop in HbA1c levels has been associated with an annual health care cost reduction of $800, as well as a drop in mortality.

The Reaching Communities Project has focused in areas throughout Central North Carolina where diabetes programs are closing, and where access to diabetes education is in many instances is nonexistent.  As local diabetes education programs close across North Carolina, the Diabetes Bus partners with local physicians and private practices to fill gaps where free programs no longer exist.  The program’s greatest asset is their flexibility and ability to respond to the changing needs of rural and high-need communities. 

For her work with the Diabetes Bus, Diabetes Management Solutions, executive director, Kim Hanchette was honored as a “Healthcare Hero” in 2007 by Triangle Business Journal.

More information can be found at www.thediabetesbus.org