Chris works with very sick, and many times, very scared patients. Whether diabetes is a new or old diagnosis for each patient, Chris exemplifies compassionate care as she teaches families and patients how to manage the disease. One weekend, Chris received a call from a physician who was concerned about a newly diagnosed patient admitted with Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). The patient was a student at a local university, but far away from home and family. Chris came in on her day off to spend time with this patient, communicate with the family, answer questions, and ensure the patient had the necessary resources and equipment needed to manage their care.
There are many instances where patients do not have insurance or money to purchase insulin at discharge. Chris spends many hours working with these patients and families to ensure that they have the necessary equipment and have a plan for follow-up on treatment. She is working with a local pharmacy to establish a charitable fund to assist patients in obtaining necessary supplies.
Chris leads the interdisciplinary inpatient Diabetes Management Committee focused on improving the Diabetes care provided in our facility. She is a resource for nurses, and new residents and works closely with physicians to manage the patient's care, and advocates for patients during the daily Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) meetings. Chris not only cares for patients within our facility. She is also an advocate for awareness and prevention in our community, but she also assisted with organizing the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) walk in our community. She participates in local health fairs where she conducts blood sugar checks for community members and instructs them on diabetes prevention. She also sponsors a monthly community Diabetes Support Group at LGHM.