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Diabetes is a disease that will not go away, but it can be managed by taking proper and necessary steps. Burgess Diabetes Center offers the latest in technology to help patients manage their blood sugars.

A Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (CGMS) consists of a sensor worn on the back of the upper arm. The sensor uses a thin flexible filament inserted under the skin and measures glucose every minute. The blood sugar data from the sensor is downloaded to a computer and a print out shows a full 24 hours of blood sugars. The sensor can be worn for up to 14 days.

John Maule, a five-year diabetes patient, has had previous struggles with keeping track of his blood sugar. After wearing the professional CGMS, it motivated him to get a personal version and download the phone app.

“I’m afraid of needles, so pricking your fingers all the time was a big step for me,” said Maule. “Then on top of it, you have to keep track of the strips.” It got to be too much of a hassle for Maule that eventually he became inconsistent with testing his blood sugar altogether.

When a diabetes patient is inconsistent or just stops checking their blood sugar, they are taking a major risk.

Michele Kirkendall, Burgess Health Center diabetes educator, and dietician said not checking your blood sugar can lead to problems with a diabetes patient’s vision, heart, kidneys, and circulation in hands and feet.

“You can also feel extremely tired and just not feel like doing anything,” said Kirkendall.

Since beginning the sensor in May, Maule has noticed an improvement in his daily life.

“I think the biggest thing is I know what to eat when to eat and how I react to what I eat.” Before he was just guessing and paying the consequence later.

The sensor relays important information to the reader, such as graphs and charts.

All of these conveniences have changed the way Maule feels about checking his blood sugar.

“I can’t believe that anyone with diabetes doesn’t struggle with pricking their finger,” he said. “I would recommend the sensor to anyone with diabetes.”

Personal Continuous Glucose Monitors are becoming a very useful tool to help individuals monitor their blood sugars. If you or someone you know could benefit from this technology, contact our diabetes educators at Burgess Diabetes Center.

www.burgesshc.org or call 712-423-9268.

Burgess Health Center is pleased to announce its Emergency Department has been named a 2017 Guardian of Excellence Award^® winner by Press Ganey. The Guardian of Excellence Award recognizes top-performing healthcare organizations that have consistently achieved the 95^th percentile or above of performance in Patient Experience. The Emergency Department at Burgess has received this award for five consecutive years.

The Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award is a nationally-recognized symbol of achievement in health care. Presented annually, the award honors clients who consistently sustained performance in the top 5% of all Press Ganey clients for each yearly reporting period.

“This achievement demonstrates the commitment our employees make to our patients,” notes Fran Tramp, President and CEO, Burgess Health Center. “Providing a positive patient experience is top-priority along with providing quality care. Our exceptional staff members genuinely care about the health and well-being of our patients and their families – and it shows.”

“We are proud to partner with Burgess Health Center,” said Patrick T. Ryan, CEO of Press Ganey. “This award is a testament to the organization’s leadership in delivering patient-centered care. By achieving and sustaining this level of excellence, Burgess continues to demonstrate their commitment to reducing patient suffering and advancing the overall quality of health care.”

Find out more about Burgess Emergency Services.

Burgess Home Health has been named a Top Agency of the 2017 HomeCare Elite^®, a recognition of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. For 12 years, HomeCare Elite has annually identified the top 25 percent of Medicare-certified agencies and highlighted the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall.

The ranking is developed by ABILITY^® Network, a leading information technology company helping providers and payers simplify the administrative and clinical complexities of healthcare; and sponsored by DecisionHealth, publisher of Home Health Line and the Complete Home Health ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Coding Manual.

“The team at Burgess has demonstrated an impressive ability to deliver great patient care,” said Christine Lang, senior director for ABILITY Network. “This is due to the skill and dedication of their clinical professionals, as well as the proficiency and efforts of their quality team tracking, measuring and interpreting the data that supports the delivery of care. Together, they have earned this recognition as one of the top home care agencies in the country.”

“Congratulations to those leading agencies that earned a spot on HomeCare Elite,” said Marci Heydt, senior content manager for DecisionHealth. “Burgess and its peers have worked hard to improve quality outcomes while maintaining solid profit margins, which is increasingly difficult as home health agencies faced increased regulatory burdens each year.”

HomeCare Elite agencies are determined by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, best practices implementation, patient experience (HHCAHPS), quality improvement and consistency, and financial health. To be considered, an agency must be Medicare-certified and have data for at least three outcomes in Home Health Compare. Out of 9,064 agencies considered, 2,268 are recognized on the 2017 HomeCare Elite winners list overall.

The entire list of 2017 HomeCare Elite agencies can be downloaded by visiting the ABILITY Network website at abilitynetwork.com/homecare-elite.