Diabetes Education

Diabetes can be challenging to manage. Upon being diagnosed with this chronic condition, it's common to feel a certain amount of fear about how your lifestyle may change and that you might experience life-threatening complications.

Healthy eating, physical activity, monitoring your blood sugar, taking medication and reducing your risk for complications are now part of your daily routine. At times, all of this might seem overwhelming. At Westchester Health, we’re here to help.

For each of our patients living with diabetes, we provide a diabetes care team to educate you and your family about this chronic disease, help you manage your symptoms, implement important lifestyle changes and reduce your risk of developing complications including heart disease, dental disease, eye disorders, kidney disease, nerve damage and lower leg amputation.

Diabetes may not have a cure, but you can control it and live a healthy, happy life. And we’re here to support you, every step of the way.

Diabetes educator

A key member of our diabetes management team, a diabetes educator, will help you learn how to take care of yourself in the best way possible. She will help you learn how to manage your disease, work with you to develop a personalized plan to stay healthy, and give you the tools and ongoing support to make that plan a regular part of your life. Your diabetes educator will guide you through your treatment and help you with any worries, issues and problems you might encounter along the way. To learn more, use these links for local diabetes education programs:

1. The Center for Diabetes at Northern Westchester Hospital
2. Diabetes & Endocrine Center for Children & Young Adults

Diabetes education: covered by insurance

Diabetes education is a recognized part of your diabetes care and is covered by Medicare as well as most health insurance plans when it is offered through an accredited diabetes education program. These programs go through a vigorous process set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Two organizations, the American Association of Diabetes Educators and the American Diabetes Association, accredit diabetes education programs. To learn more, we invite you to visit their websites.

Pediatric diabetes education

Diabetes is a complex disease and there’s much to learn, especially for diabetic patients and their families. Whether you're a parent, sibling or other family member, your support and understanding can make all the difference in how well a diabetic child copes with this challenging disease. At Westchester Health, our diabetes care team provides information and resources to help every child and every family adjust to life with diabetes.

Diabetes should not keep your child from achieving his/her highest goals in life, whether in sports, academics, music, art, hobbies, or anything they want to do. We can help you and your child learn how to manage your child's diabetes, from healthy eating guidelines to blood sugar monitoring to reducing the risk of developing other health problems. In addition, everyone who cares for your child—from babysitters to adult relatives—should be trained on the basics of diabetes care and what to do in an emergency.