The Stein's are in DEEP

While we have all been focused on the pandemic, the diabetes epidemic continues to rage on. These last two years have shown us that men and women with diabetes, particularly those in traditionally underserved populations, have had far greater incidences of complications from COVID-19 and significantly higher rates of mortality.

“Until there is a cure, there must be more focus on education about prevention of diabetes and how to live a healthier lifestyle," explains Elliot Stein, a John Muir Health Foundation Board Member and diabetic. It is incumbent on us as a community to help ensure that access to information and quality health care is available for the most vulnerable among us."

Elliot and Eileen believe that providing education for the prevention of diabetes among those who are at the most risk for developing it, and ensuring folks in our most at-risk communities have the resources they need for their successful management of this chronic disease is vitally important.

And gratefully, Elliot and Eileen are all about walking the talk, so they have generously provided the seed funding for a collaborative effort of the John Muir Health Diabetes Center, Community Health Improvement, and John Muir Health Family Residency Program, to provide diabetes education, clinical services, and supplies to underserved populations.

With their help, John Muir Health has been able to launch the Diabetes Empowerment Education program, or DEEP™, an education curriculum designed to help people with pre-diabetes, diabetes, relatives, and caregivers gain a better understanding of diabetes self-care. Classes are free to participants and last a total of six weeks, providing participants with eight unique learning modules.

DEEP™ is a diabetes self-management program that has been shown to be successful in helping participants take control of their disease and reduce the risk of complications. DEEP™ was developed for use in low-income, racial and ethnic minority populations. It includes a training-of-trainers curriculum designed to engage community residents.

Angelita, one of our recent DEEP™ participants, shared, “I am grateful to you for making me understand things that I didn't understand." "For example, I learned that making any type of change like going for a walk is very important because it improves my blood sugar. Thank you so much for this program.”

And when you ask Elliot and Eileen what has been most meaningful to them, they are quick to say it’s been their support of diabetes education for prevention and care among those who are at most risk in our community.

“I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 15 years old. Gratefully, I have received outstanding care from an extraordinary medical care team who has helped me manage my disease successfully EVERY day. However, Eileen and I know that not everyone has access to quality health care.”

“It’s been proven that lifestyle factors can contribute to developing diabetes. When access to health care isn’t available and medical checkups aren’t routine, it makes it nearly impossible to catch when someone is pre-diabetic to help prevent the transition to full diabetes. We are passionate about helping to stop the diabetes epidemic we are seeing all over the country, and especially here in our community among our most vulnerable neighbors.”