The Diabetes Community Action Coalition’s Quarterly Meeting was held in conjunction with the Quarterly Meeting of the Georgia Diabetes Coalition (GDC) on Wednesday, July 26th at Mercy Care, 424 Decatur Street SE, Atlanta, GA 30312.

Guest speakers at the meeting include Sara Berney, Executive Director with Wholesome Wave Georgia, and Alex Lane, a Registered Dietician from Open Hand.  Learn more.

Ms. Berney spoke about the Georgia Fresh for Less program, a part of a national Wholesome Wave initiative to ensure that locally grown affordable food is available to families who experience food insecurity.

The program works with select Farmers Markets to provide double the value of SNAP (Food Stamp) dollars using a client’s EBT card.  For example, $50 of SNAP EBT dollars can buy $100 worth of fresh produce, meats, and dairy products.

Many Farmers Markets participating in the program are open year round.  For details about Markets near you, see the DCAC handout: Georgia Fresh for Less Farmers Markets in Metro ATL.

Ms. Lane described the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription® Program, a collaboration between Open Hand, Georgia Wholesome Wave, and five health centers.  The program is designed to benefit patients who live with chronic illness and experience food insecurity.  Learn more.

The Open Enrollment Period for 2017 health insurance ended on January 31, 2017.

A Special Enrollment Period is available to individuals and families who have experienced a “qualifying life event.” For more information, see: Qualifying Life Events.   It is important to note that a Special Enrollment Period lasts for 60 days from the date of the event.

For questions related to Special Enrollment Periods or to enroll by phone, call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596.   For TTY, call 1-855-889-4325.  Interpretation services are available.

Help is available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week.

For help to enroll online during a Special Enrollment Period, call the Insure Georgia Virtual Navigator Center from 8 am to 5 pm at 1-866-988-8246.

Enrollment is available year-round for children who qualify for Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids.
For more information, see the Department of Community Health website or visit your local office of Division of Family and Children Services.

The Diabetes Community Action Coalition, Inc.  (DCAC) seeks to partner with health advocates, community and faith-based organizations, and the medical community to raise awareness about the dangers of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

It is important that people living with diabetes and their families be aware of the dangers and warning signs of nerve damage to the feet, otherwise known as diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).  Only then can they make informed decisions and healthy lifestyle choices to prevent the onset of this life-changing condition.  The American Diabetes Association estimates that over 60% of people living with diabetes suffer from some degree of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.  Read more…

Dr. Comfort, the worldwide leading provider of diabetic footwear, has provided DCAC with a supply of the American Diabetes Association poster (19″ x 25″) seen here.  Health advocates and health care providers interested in copies of the poster should contact DCAC at dcacfulton@gmail.com.
For more information on therapeutic shoes for people with diabetes, see the Dr. Comfort Official Website.

For print, video, and audio educational materials in multiple languages, download DCAC’s handout:  Diabetes and Foot Care Resources for Health Educators.

Cover photo.

Print copies of the 2014 Atlanta Regional Health Guide: Resources for the Uninsured and Underinsured are no longer available to order.  While supplies last, copies of the Guide will be available at DCAC Quarterly Meetings.

Both English and Spanish versions of the Guide remain available to download.
A direct link to each Guide is provided here:  English Guide   Spanish Guide.

If you have any suggestions for additions or corrections to the Guide, please send to: dcacfulton@gmail.com. 

The theme of the 14th Annual Unity Conference held in Atlanta from July 18th to 20th was “Community Health Workers: Social Change Agents Advancing Health Equity and Improving Outcomes”.   See Conference Agenda. 

DCAC Co-Chair, Vicki Karnes, RN, CDE, along with Alliant Quality’s Diabetes Education Specialist, Jessica Knopf, MSW, hosted one of the last sessions at the Conference.  

Jessica Knopf described Alliant Quality’s Everyone with Diabetes Counts Program, a free six-week diabetes self-management education program for Medicare beneficiaries. The presentation given by DCAC Co-Chair, Vicki Karnes, covered the following topics:

• Safety Challenges for Senior Adults Living with Diabetes

• Resources to Support  Diabetes Self-Care

• Navigating the Maze of Health Insurance

To view the DCAC PowerPoint, see:

Partners Working Together to Support CHWs and Empower Senior Adults with Diabetes

DCAC recognizes the key role that Community Health Workers (CHWs) play in providing support to the growing number of senior adults in Metro Atlanta as well as those of all ages affected by chronic health conditions.   For those interested in CHW training, registration is open for the free iADAPT 2.0 Project’s Chronic Disease Education Train-the-Trainer Program offered by the Morehouse School of Medicine.  Learn more.