Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and the ADA of Broward County have joined forces with community organizations to establish an Inter-professional Diabetes Education and Awareness (IDEA) Initiative with the goal of offering free education seminars and other services to the community.

 

The health care system in the United States has become increasingly fragmented and complex over the last decade and sweeping health care reform is designed to address the gaps. Rapid innovation and adaption to change requires a more interdependent and collaborative approach that moves away from an “individual expert” model of health care delivery toward one that spans professions, functions, levels and generations. The IDEA Initiative is designed to help prepare emerging health care professionals to meet this need.

 

“The National Diabetes Prevention Program recommends a collaborative approach and points to the importance of partnerships between health care professionals, academia, employers, community-based organizations, insurers, federal agencies and other stakeholders,” said Terry Morrow, Ph.D., assistant dean of student affairs for the NSU College of Health Care Sciences and co-director of the initiative. “We believe that the best way to combat this epidemic is to come together and pool our knowledge and expertise.”

 

The IDEA Initiative began in fall 2012 when nine NSU faculty members and 45 students from NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences worked together to host diabetes workshops throughout Broward and Dade counties. Collectively, they educated approximately 170 children, adults, and elderly about diabetes.

 

A year later, the initiative has expanded to include faculty and students from 10 different professional disciplines based in NSU’s Health Professions Division, including physician assistant, occupational therapy, physical therapy, medical sonography, audiology, pharmacy, nursing, osteopathic medicine, public health and optometry.

 

Local businesses and organizations including Walgreens, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, the Urban League and others have also signed on as community partners. The IDEA Initiative Kick-Off event took place on October 24, 2013 and the eight inter-professional teams are working together to create a variety of diabetes workshops for the community. The workshop series is called “Power Over Diabetes,” and the target audience is individuals with diabetes and their families as well as anyone else with a vested interest in diabetes.

 

Power Over Diabetes is free and open to the public and runs nearly every weekend between mid-January and April (schedule below) in the Nursing Simulations Skills Lab at NSU’s University Park Plaza, 3400 S. University Drive, Davie. The hour-long seminars include topics on exercise, eye health, medication management, healthy eating, youth and a general overview of the disease. Each is led by experts in their related field.