Diabetes Care Services

Appropriate meal planning is important to successfully managing diabetes. But how do you know where to start? Many people find it helpful to discuss meal planning and specialized nutrition services with a registered dietitian nutritionist when adjusting to a diabetes diagnosis.

Meal planning consultations include an overview of diabetes and the major nutrients that affect blood sugar levels, as well as a review of your current dietary habits. After meeting with you, our dietitian nutritionists can create a personalized meal plan to help you minimize blood glucose spikes and keep your diabetes under control. A registered dietitian nutritionist can also help you with your weight loss, blood pressure, cholesterol/triglyceride or other nutritional goals.

A physician referral is required to receive meal planning consultations. Meal planning consultations are offered at many Parkview hospitals. For more information, call 260-373-4280.

Individuals with diabetes may need medication to help them manage the disease. Our certified diabetes educators and pharmacists with expertise in medication management for diabetes work within many Parkview locations and physician offices. This team approach provides you with easy access to a diverse group of providers to help manage the disease.

Individuals with diabetes may also need to take insulin, using a syringe, insulin pen or insulin pump. Your provider can discuss which is most appropriate for you.

Insulin pumps deliver your basal insulin throughout the day, providing meal and correctional insulin as needed. Individuals using insulin pumps will need to have a basic knowledge of carbohydrate counting so the pump can be programmed for the bolus amount of insulin at each meal. Using an insulin pump provides increased lifestyle flexibility and dosing accuracy without the need for multiple daily injections.

Using an insulin pump is an adjustment in lifestyle that can be challenging. If you are making the transition from multiple daily injections to insulin pump therapy, one of our diabetes educators can guide you through this process. The diabetes educators are certified on each type of insulin pump.

Many insulin pumps work in conjunction with glucose sensors to provide better blood sugar control so your blood sugar level is within your target range more frequently. Our team of diabetes educators can help you choose which insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring system would work best for your individual needs. They can also provide education on initial set up, programming and operation of your insulin pump or continuous glucose monitor.

Parkview Diabetes Services also has a professional continuous glucose monitor that can be worn for 10 days. This is a great tool to help you and your provider with your diabetes management without the expense of purchasing a personal continuous glucose monitor.

Parkview offers routine diabetes retinopathy testing for individuals who have been diagnosed with diabetes. Technology and trained staff are available to provide testing for diabetic retinopathy at our PPG - Endocrinology location on the Parkview Regional Medical Center campus. Testing will be available soon at other locations in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio.

IDx-DR technology is the first FDA-cleared artificial intelligence-based system designed for use in medical settings to test for diabetic retinopathy. This system:

• Uses a robotic camera to take two images of the back of each eye, where the retina is located.
• These images are scanned to screen for diabetic retinopathy.
• In less than a minute, this system produces a report that indicates if you are positive or negative for this eye disease. The care team also provides follow-up instructions.

Testing results are added to your electronic health record upon exam completion. This allows easy access for you to discuss results with your Parkview providers.