Newsletter & Annual Report 2017

Diabetic Management Gets Personal

If you’ve ever watched sports or worked in a professional setting, you’re probably familiar with the phrase, “teamwork makes the dream work.” At BFC, Diabetes Management is no exception. Since July, our staff has worked sternly with a dedicated group of volunteer healthcare providers to enhance our Diabetes Management program. Providing comprehensive care and education to our diabetic patients involves working closely with our volunteer doctors, nurses, and pharmacists to ensure our diabetic patients are becoming more health literate on their condition and scheduling routine health maintenance appointments to review medications, receive timely blood tests, and more. Again, this would not be possible without a dream team of volunteers. Batting leadoff are our dedicated volunteer physicians: Dr. Paul Strumph, an endocrinologist, is seeing BFC’s highest-risk diabetic patients once a month, Dr. Kathy Goldstein, a family medicine physician and Dr. Jennifer Chen, an internal medicine physician, are seeing diabetic patients weekly, and Dr. Kenneth Tuck is performing annual vision exams for our diabetic patients on a regular basis. Next up to plate is our dedicated pharmacy intern, Morgan Grant, Pharm.D. After our physicians meet with our diabetic patients, our Clinical Coordinator identifies those who are high-risk or newly diagnosed and schedules them with a one-on-one session with Morgan. With the help of our incredible Pharmacy Department, Morgan provides medication management, instruction on the use of glucometers or injection of insulin, and additional education as needed. By summer 2018, we anticipate Morgan will meet with 50% of our diabetic patients. Last but not least is our clean-up hitter and longtime volunteer Cindy Neathawk, RN. Cindy is working to revise BFC’s diabetic education classes in an effort to make sessions more accessible and fun for our patients, responding to low attendance at weekly diabetic classes these past few months. Rebranding these classes into structured Diabetic Management Seminars occuring the third Thursday of each month, Cindy will focus initially on nutrition and food preparation. We are thrilled to bolster Diabetes Management at BFC, giving our diabetic patients the knowledge and hope needed to improve their health and well-being. This would not be possible without the help of our gracious volunteer “teammates.” We thank them for all they do! VTC Medical Students Lead Innovation

Cindy Neathawk, RN (left) and Morgan Grant, Pharm.D. (right)

“Everyone struggles with nutrition and exercise, not just diabetics. With one-on-one education through Diabetic Manage- ment, our diabetic patients learn they are not alone and that their diabetes does not define them."

BFC prides itself on creating a positive, interprofessional learning (IPL) environment for future healthcare leaders in the Roanoke Valley. This year, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine students Albert Truong and Jean Sabile led two IPL projects at BFC, improving care coordination and process flow for our clinic. For Jean Sabile, the interprofessionalism domain at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine provided an incredibly unique opportunity to work with students from the Accelerated Nursing and Physician Assistant programs at Jefferson College of Health Sciences on a student-driven service learning project. However, he and his colleagues had differing perceptions of how they could make a difference in Roanoke. Thankfully, Jean and his colleagues approached BFC with a simple question: How can we help? Working alongside BFC's tireless volunteers, Jean's team managed to impact the process flow of the clinic while helping to shape a framework for further improvement

From Left to Right: Jean Sabile (VTCSOM), Abbie Polizotto (PA-JCHS), Danielle Hannuksela (Acc. Nursing-JCHS), Sanaz Monjazeb (VTCSOM), James Black (BFC PIC), Janine Underwood (BFC ED), Anne Nguyen (PA-JCHS), Zehra Rahman (PA-JCHS), Sarah Heider (Acc. Nursing-JCHS), Cyrus Hinkson (VTCSOM)

in medication reconciliation. More importantly, these students were able to gain insight into the comradery, dependability, and inspiring commitment to care that BFC's volunteer providers demonstrate regularly. involvment at BFC has become a tremendous example of how an interprofessional organization can come together to care for a community.

Additionally, Albert Truong has been working with his research mentors Dr. David Hartman, Dr. Cheri Hartman, and Dr. Robert Trestman on developing an improved care coordination program for patients battling opioid use disorder and substance use disorder at BFC. The initial phase of his project involves adapting START NOW, an integrative evidence-informed model of treatment based on dialectical behavior therapy and motivational interviewing, specifically for patients with substance use disorder. Then, in collaboration with investigators at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, the researchers plan on testing the behavioral effects and clinical outcomes of their modified START NOW program. As the Roanoke Valley continues to battle the opioid epidemic, we are grateful for students like Albert who have become leaders in innovation and research for our community.

Albert Truong (left) and Jean Sabile (right), VTC School of Medicine M.D. Candidates, Class of 2020

2 | BRADLEY FREE CLINIC