Jenny Spaulding, RN, CDE, Phelps Memorial Health Center, has received a Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) in Practice Certificate from the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES) through its badging platform, Acclaim. This certificate demonstrates that Mrs. Spaulding possesses specialized knowledge of continuous glucose monitors.
Mrs. Spaulding stated, “The training allows me to better serve my diabetic patients. Continuous glucose monitoring gives patients and clinicians more data about blood glucose levels throughout the day than traditional finger-stick measurements.”
CGMs provide users with the ease of checking glucose levels throughout the day and preventing highs and lows, without the multiple fingerstick testing that’s associated with traditional blood glucose meters. They also offer users tighter control over blood glucose levels because most CGM systems have a built-in alarm that sounds if they are getting close to a pre-set high or low.
Mrs. Spaulding said, “It lets us track and measure how diet, stress, sleep, exercise, and other factors affect their blood sugar levels.” She added, “CGMs are beneficial because they help patients and clinicians identify blood glucose trends, making it easier to tailor diets and manage medications, and providing motivation to increase physical activity”.
Mrs. Spaulding indicated that a CGM gives patients a tool to help them best manage their diabetes so they feel better, and gain confidence in managing their diabetes, which in turn can help them live a long healthy life.
She said, “We have professional CGMs that the hospital owns and a patient can wear for a limited amount of time to monitor their data. If they find the device beneficial we can then check into their insurance to see if they would be covered for a personal CGM.” She also stated that this process can also serve as an opportunity for hesitant patients to try CGM before committing to purchasing a personal CGM device.
Mrs. Spaulding is a registered nurse in the Cardiac Rehab department at Phelps Memorial. She has been a diabetes educator since 1998 and has had her CDE since 2002. As a certified diabetic educator, she educates patients to manage their diabetes in an outpatient setting. She also is a trainer in the Simple Solutions Pre-Diabetes Education program.
If you have questions regarding diabetes education, contact Jenny Spaulding at 995-2848.
