St Paul Diabetes Lion's Club: A Unique Partnership to Improve Care of People with Diabetes

Objective:To describe the community based initiative that is being provided by a newly formed Lion's Club.  The St Paul Diabetes Lion's Club (SPDLC).   The SPDLC membership is unique in that it consists of people from various health care systems (physicians, diabetes educators, nurse practitioners, dentists), people with diabetes, representatives from Vision Loss Resources, and pharmaceutical industries, which specialize in diabetes treatment. The common bond the members share is to provide community service for people with diabetes who are underserved.   

Methods:  The St Paul Diabetes Lion's Club has been the recipient of funds from Lion's Clubs International Core 4 grant.   These funds have been used  to focus efforts on underserved populations, namely the Hmong and Hispanic populations.

Results:  The following community programs are currently being offered in the St. Paul MN area.  Part One: Diabetes Awareness and Prevention (BS Screenings and Pre-Diabetes Program). The first part of this program is to offer  free blood sugar screenings and pre-diabetes education in the community at a variety of venues.  Part Two:  Diabetes Self Management Training The St. Paul Diabetes Lion’s Club conducts 12-15 free diabetes community based diabetes self-management training classes per year.  Part Three Funds were provided to purchase a DigiScope retinal-imaging device so this important test can be performed at the West Side Community Health Services Clinic.  

Conclusion: It is the belief of the St Paul Diabetes Lion's Club that diabetes prevention and treatment requires collaboration between private industry, government, health care systems, health care providers and communities.  Our membership is reflective of the coalition needed to improve diabetes care.