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As part of Diabetes Awareness Month during November, we are highlighting some of the efforts of Gamecock Pharmacists to improve the lives of patients living with diabetes and to educate those who are at risk of developing the disease.

According to the American Diabetes Association, South Carolina is dealing with a diabetic epidemic:

• Nearly 600,000 people in South Carolina have been diagnosed with diabetes.
• An additional 123,000 people in South Carolina have diabetes but do not know it, greatly increasing their health risk.
• There are more than 1.3 million people in South Carolina who have prediabetes.
• Every year an estimated 31,168 people in South Carolina are diagnosed with diabetes.

Donna Avant, 1985 pharmacy, owns Ehrhardt Pharmacy in Ehrhardt, South Carolina. Living in a rural area, she sees the impact that diabetes has on her community, and she is passionate about helping her patients navigate the disease.

“You can change your lifestyle. You can change your eating habits, you can walk, you can drink more water and keep yourself from becoming diabetic,” she says. “Diabetes can be stalled and prevented if the person chooses to do so and makes a commitment to lifestyle change.”

Avant was so determined to help educate her patients that she became certified diabetes care and education specialist as well as having her pharmacy certified. She provides space in her pharmacy for a local nurse practitioner’s clinic, and she sought grants to purchase Bluetooth diabetic monitors for 75 patients. She was recognized as an ambassador for Bamberg County and was named Pharmacist of the Year by the South Carolina Pharmacy Association.

In 2023, she also became the administrator of SCPhA’s “City of Charleston Diabetes Program.”

Modeled after the original Asheville Project as a participant of the American Pharmacists Association Foundation’s Diabetes Ten City Challenge, the SCPhA has continued to provide this employer-based diabetes self-management program to the City of Charleston. Employees and their dependents work with a pharmacist coach to manage their condition as part of an effort to demonstrate that such collaborations with pharmacists can help improve overall health, improve adherence to medication protocols, reduce absenteeism, shorten hospital stays and reduce health care costs.

Jennifer Baker, 2002 pharmacy, helped get the program off the ground at SCPhA. It initially included the cities of Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Greenville and Spartanburg, and pharmacists from around the state served as coaches for municipal employees.

“The program provides benefits for the patients and pharmacists alike,” says Baker. “We see improved outcomes for our patients, and pharmacists demonstrate the important role they play in those outcomes, while also being compensated for their services.”

The program provides benefits for the patients and pharmacists alike ... We see improved outcomes for our patients, and pharmacists demonstrate the important role they play in those outcomes, while also being compensated for their services.

While the City of Charleston is the only city still participating, Donna’s role as the administrator has helped to increase the number of patients receiving services to around 80, with nine coaches providing support.

Brian Clark, executive director for SCPhA, hopes to grow the program even further by adding additional coaches.

“Some of our coaches have been with the program from the beginning and are beginning to retire, so it is time for others to step up,” he says. “We want to continue to improve our patients’ outcomes, and we cannot do that if we cannot get more coaches.”

Clark praises Avant’s commitment and passion for diabetes education.

“She has sought certifications on her own, she understands the issues of diabetes, especially in a rural area, and she has embraced improving patients’ lives. She is the epitome of what a rural pharmacist should be,” Clark adds.
 

 

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Topics: Alumni Programs