Diabetes Workgroup

University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) and Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) have collaborated, publicly known as Healthier2gether.

The collaborative works with community organizations to increase the number of available city-based programs to prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes, and to increase access to community-based diabetes management programs to help people in Baltimore City and throughout Maryland who live with diabetes improve their health outcomes.

The unified goal of Healthier2gether is to expand the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program and the Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support Program and American Diabetes Association–recognized Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support programs, as well as evidence-based Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services–reimbursed diabetes prevention and management services.

The JHM and UMMC collaborative makes diabetes programs available where more people need help to prevent or manage diabetes, focusing on:

• Racial and ethnic groups more likely to have diabetes
• Communities with greater prevalence for prediabetes
• Areas with high mortality rates and emergency room visits due to diabetes 

The Diabetes Prevention Program is for those at risk for developing diabetes

The Diabetes Prevention Program uses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-approved National Diabetes Prevention Program activities. This program has been tailored specifically for those at risk for developing diabetes and has been proven to help:

• Lower blood glucose levels
• Lose at least 5% of body weight
• Increase physical activity at least 150 minutes per week

Diabetes Self-Management Training is for those living with diabetes

Diabetes Self-Management Training uses the American Diabetes Association approved diabetes self-management training activities. This program is for those living with Type 1, Type 2, or gestational diabetes and has been proven to help:

• Lower A1C by 0.002%
• Better manage medications
• Increase healthy lifestyle behaviors to reduce serious diabetes-related complications

The Ascension Saint Agnes Diabetes Education program helps you understand how to manage your diabetes.

Whether you have Type 1, Type 2 or gestational diabetes, specialists at Ascension Saint Agnes are here to help. We take the time to explain how diabetes affects your health and daily life. Your specialist works with you to help you manage your condition. And, we offer an education program to help you learn more about living with diabetes. 

Ascension Saint Agnes offers diabetes education services. We work with you to develop an individual care plan that fits your lifestyle. Our goal is to help you make good choices without having to give up all the things you love.

The self-management training program is offered in individual sessions or weekly group classes. The program will help you learn about:

• Diabetes
• Healthy meal planning and effects of food on blood sugar
• How to read food labels and use information concerning carbohydrates, fats, sodium, and fiber
• Benefits of exercise and stress management in your diabetes care
• How to avoid long-term complications of diabetes
• Medication management and what to do on "sick days"

Talk to your doctor about diabetes education. A referral is needed for diabetes education classes. Insurance coverage may vary. Talk with your insurance provider about coverage for diabetes education classes. For more information, please call 667-234-3244.

Have your physician complete the diabetes education referral form and fax to 443-708-9355.

Do you have prediabetes or other risk factors for type 2 diabetes? Now is the time to take charge of your health and make a change. Prediabetes may be reversed when it’s caught early and by making healthy lifestyle changes. Learn how to make healthy changes by joining the Diabetes Prevention Program at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program taught by certified lifestyle coaches.

The Diabetes Prevention Program is a year-long program that focuses on lasting lifestyle changes like regular physical activity, healthy eating, weight loss, and stress management.

The program meets weekly for one hour for the first 6 months and then one to two times per month for the second 6 months.

To participate in the program, you must:

• Be 18 years or older
• Have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher (23 or higher if Asian American)
• Not be previously diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes
• Not be pregnant

You also need to meet one of these requirements: 

1. Had one of these blood test result in the prediabetes range within the past year:
   1. Hemoglobin A1C: 5.7–6.4%.
   2. Fasting plasma glucose: 100–125 mg/dL.
   3. Two-hour plasma glucose (after a 75 g glucose load): 140–199 mg/dL.

All Medicare participants are required to have a blood test

1. Be previously diagnosed with gestational diabetes
2. Received a high-risk result (score of 5 or higher) on the Prediabetes Risk Test