Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation is pleased to announce that the UniHealth Foundation awarded a $750,000 grant to support Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital’s Diabetes Education and Prevention Program.

“We deeply appreciate UniHealth Foundation’s continued support of our hospital programs aimed at improving community health and wellness,” said Marlee Lauffer, President, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation. “Our partnership is important to our mission to improve the health of our community through compassion and excellence in healthcare services.”

The UniHealth Foundation grant will help ensure the full implementation of a three-year, $1.4 million enhancement and expansion of Henry Mayo’s ongoing diabetes program aimed at successfully educating, intervening and treating the disease in the Santa Clarita community.

“Our diabetes team is well into a proven program with knowledgeable professionals who successfully educate, intervene and treat inpatients and outpatients who have diabetes, as well as community residents who are predisposed to diabetes – particularly those who fall into the underserved demographic,” said Roger E. Seaver, President and CEO, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. “This grant from the UniHealth Foundation supports staff expansion and broader patient outreach and education, crucial for multiplying our capacity to teach and take action against this debilitating disease.”

Henry Mayo’s diabetes program team is headed by Sina Tebi, MD, medical director, and includes Dee Rickett, MSN, RN, senior director of clinical programs; Sarah Stoddard, BSN, RN, diabetes nurse navigator; two certified diabetes educators and nutritionists, Debra D’Angelo, RD, CDE and Kathleen Wall, RD, CDE; and an administrative assistant, Lynda Birdsong.

According to Dr. Tebi, diabetes is a growing problem. “We currently see 34 patients a day who enter our doors, living with diabetes and facing its daily inconveniences and dangers. These patients represent 18% of our admitted population. Nearly 20% of our Wound Care Center patients and 26% of our cardiovascular patients are identified with Type 2 diabetes.”

Dee Rickett, senior director of clinical programs and diabetes program supervisor, is excited about expanding the program into the community. “Our diabetes education program is currently based in the hospital as primarily an inpatient one-on-one education model, with additional outpatient education offered free of charge to our patients and community members. Our program’s expansion plan includes an outpatient diabetes program operated from the newly created Henry Mayo Fitness and Health Center. Our program seeks to offer ongoing health education and lifestyle management needs of the discharged hospital patients, with an emphasis on reaching out to our local Latino community.”

This grant is the second largest awarded by UniHealth Foundation to Henry Mayo. The largest, a three-year $900,000 grant was awarded in 2014 to help establish Henry Mayo’s palliative care program. The palliative care program is certified by The Joint Commission as one of five such programs in California.