AADE16 Honors ‘Rising Star’ Diabetes Educators
As we all know, there are plenty of Rising Stars among the ranks of diabetes educators! This year, four in particular are being singled out to receive the AADE Rising Star Award. This award seeks to honors diabetes educators who have less than three years of experience and have demonstrated leadership and commitment. The 2016 Rising Stars are:
Andrew Bzowyckyj, PharmD, BCPS, CDE
With the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy/Truman Medical Centers, Bzowyckyj is dedicated to providing diabetes education to Kansas City’s uninsured and underinsured patient populations.
Combining his pharmacist and educator skills, he has revamped the medications portion of the curriculum and has made the patient resources more engaging and easier to understand. He spearheads initiatives using inspirational video testimonials from prior patients and information collection regarding patient smartphone use. He has also been actively streamlining and revitalizing his DSME program’s advisory board.
Sossity Anne Riordan, PharmD, BCPS, BC-ADM
With the Indian Health Service in Oklahoma, Riordan is committed to improving patient care and outcomes within the Native American community.
Most prominently, within a few short years, her clinic dramatically freed up access to primary care providers, generating considerable reimbursement and has shown strong clinical outcomes – 67% of her patients with a beginning A1C > 9.5% saw a decrease by an average of 2%. She has innovated “in the classroom,” establishing shared medical appointments and offering a series of popular sessions that foster peer engagement and focus on topics such as diabetes survival. Riordan is also very active in offering vision imaging services.
Britt Rotberg, MS, RDN, LD, BC-ADM, CDE
Currently at Novo Nordisk, Inc., Rotberg has increased diabetes services in Georgia. She is on the NCBDE Board of Directors, the planning committee for the Georgia AADE chapter, chairs an ADA diabetes prevention program for Latinos, and is an active mentor to MPH and dietetic students.
While at Emory University School of Medicine, she established the Emory Diabetes Education Training Academy where HCPs receive free CE. She directed the Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program, presented her research at multiple annual meetings, and developed a nationally accredited program that offers free education to low-income Latinas with gestational diabetes.
Ann Scheufler, MS, RD, CDE
With Banner Endocrinology Clinic in Loveland, Colorado, Scheufler was instrumental in taking what had been a closed DSME program and led the effort to start a new program. This was no easy task. She worked to gain administrative support, set up billing and scheduling processes, applied for AADE accreditation, and then convinced the administration to try this again. And it worked!!
She embraces individualized care by creating meal plans that incorporate multiple diagnoses, and assists in adjusting insulin doses. She is also active in the community, teaching “healthy eating” cooking classes, writing the weekly nutrition blog www.peasandhoppiness.com, and recently lead the charge to start a support group for people living with type 1 diabetes.
