Providing Comprehensive Diabetes Care
August 16, 2017
The Centre for Complex Diabetes Care (CCDC) provides enhanced support to patients with diabetes and related, collective health issues that require more intensive treatment strategies. Specialized interprofessional teams within the CCDC use a coordinated approach to diabetes management and treatment to meet each patient’s individual needs and that of their families. The Centre for Complex Diabetes Care provides a single point of access to this type of care.
The CCDC program is available to both inpatients and outpatients on a referral basis. Patients from across the region access the CCDC through a referral from their primary healthcare provider (for example, their family doctor) or specialist. The CCDC team works directly with patients to ensure comprehensive care. As blood sugar control is often disturbed during periods of unrelated illnesses and hospitalization, the CCDC also offers services for admitted patients. These programs are developed with the help of Patient and Family Advisors (PFAs) who provide valuable insights and feedback on the program continually to ensure we are meeting the needs of our patients.
The CCDC has physical offices in two communities: Thunder Bay, at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and Sioux Lookout, at the Meno Ya Win Health Centre. Telemedicine plays a vital role in helping to overcome the difficulties in delivering care to patients across Northwestern Ontario to provide closer-to-home care. Wherever possible, Telemedicine technologies are used to reduce the need for patients to leave their home communities to access CCDC services.
People referred to the CCDC likely have a range of problems related to diabetes. The CCDC interprofessional team provides them with specialized, personalized care geared towards their specific needs. Generally speaking, patients work with one or more team members to assess their current condition and discuss strategies to help get the diabetes under control and maintain that control with the help of other community-based programs.
For more information, please visit www.tbrhsc.net