Health care professionals who work with diabetes patients are invited to learn the latest information from nationally respected experts at the Bridging the Gap with Education: Diabetes Symposium and Workshop Oct. 9-10 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Charleston.
The event is sponsored by the West Virginia University Extension Service and the West Virginia Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (WVEAFCS). The symposium is also financially supported in part by several major pharmaceutical companies.
The national conference explores the advances in treating diabetes and the daily challenges in providing support and education to patients and their families. Continuing education credits are available for physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, physician assistants, social workers, community health education specialists and WVEAFCS members. Nearly 300 people from 26 states attended last year’s event.
“It is exciting that the WVU Extension Service is able to bring 10 top-quality, nationally recognized diabetes educators and researchers to West Virginia to speak at this conference,”said Guen Brown, WVU Extension specialist and conference co-chair.
Featured presentations and workshops include diabetes and children, insulin pumps, cultural diversity and diabetes, communication with diabetes patients and pharmaceutical therapies. A popular event,”Cooking with the Diabetic Chef,”will be led by Christopher Smith, executive chef at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C. Nearly 30 pharmaceutical companies and other sponsors will hold a commercial exhibit exposition and reception during the conference’s first evening.
The symposium’s first day focuses on diabetes education, management of diabetes and treatment of medical conditions associated with the disease. Speakers include Janet Silverstein, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.; Marian Franz, Nutrition Concepts by Franz, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.; Jane Kelly, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga.; Kenneth Snow, Joslin Diabetes Clinic, Boston, Mass.; and Melinda Maryniuk, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, Mass.
The final day features cooking with diabetes, pharmaceutical therapies, medical appliances and educational tools for health professionals. Presenters include William Polonsky, University of California, San Diego, Calif.; Richard Jackson, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, Mass.; Larry Fox, Nemours Children’s Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla.; Karmeen Kulkarni, St. Mark’s Diabetes Center, Salt Lake City, Utah; Christopher Smith, Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Catherine Feste, Humedico, Inc., Hopkins, Minn.; and John White, Washington State University, Spokane, Wash.
Educational workshops will be taught by Franz, Silverstein and Maryniuk during the conference’s first day and Polonsky, Jackson and White on the last day in addition to their respective formal presentations.
To receive more information or to register, contact Guen Brown at 304-293-2694, ext. 3424, or visit http://www.ext.wvu.edu/dsw2003 .