Guest column: We need more awareness on treating diabetes in Oklahoma

Given that November is Diabetes Awareness Month, imagine that you have diagnosed diabetes. But also imagine that you just lost your job, and you don’t know how you will get your next meal. Having a chronic medical condition like diabetes can be stressful for anyone, but consider what this would be like without health insurance or enough food in your refrigerator.

Oklahoma ranks 42 of all 50 states for a high percentage of diabetes, affecting 13% of the adult population according to the most recent America’s Health Rankings Annual Report.

At Health Alliance for the Uninsured (HAU), we partner with free and charitable clinics across Oklahoma, helping them support our state’s most vulnerable residents. These clinics provide care, free of charge with no government support, relying solely on the support of charitable donations and volunteers.

Diabetes cannot be treated in isolation. Patients seen at our partner clinics often need non-medical support, such as healthy food, safe housing and transportation. These non-medical factors that happen outside of a clinical setting, known as social determinants of health, shape80% of a person’s health. Patients also need support for mental health challenges like depression and anxiety, which can and does impede their other health care treatment and overall wellness.

A patient, who we’ll call “George,” provides a good example of the need for whole-person care. His diabetes had been well-managed in the past, but saw his health steadily decline due to unexpected changes in his life. He had lost his job, which led to mental health challenges. As a result, he struggled to make and keep regular appointments and manage his disease. He almost lost his toes, due to nerve damage and poor circulation ― common complications of diabetes.

The clinic serving George was able to provide him with mental health support that allowed him to get back on track with his diabetes care and overall wellness. George’s example is not an isolated incident. People with diabetes are 2 to 3 times more likely to have depression than people without diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And only 25% to 50% of people with diabetes who have depression get diagnosed and treated.

Many of our partner clinics are now screening diabetes patients for depression and anxiety, as well as addressing non-medical factors. With the help of a United Health Foundation (UHF) grant, we have been able to build on the historical Health Alliance for the Uninsured programs for providing medication assistance and navigation services for specialty referrals. Our partner clinics now have access to important screening tools and behavioral health care and social services when screening identifies a need. For the alliance, partnerships are key. The grant has enabled us to expand our partner community to include community-based agencies, academic institutions, and multiple mental health providers who offer services to uninsured patients. These relationships in turn allow our partner clinics to better meet patients’ holistic health needs. The United Health Foundation shares our mission of improving community health, and we are grateful for their support. In the future, we hope to offer this whole-person care to all chronic care patients. And this is wise, knowing that one’s physical health, behavioral health and social services needs are inextricably linked.

Our work at Health Alliance for the Uninsured helps all of Oklahoma by not only improving the health of those who need help, but also by lowering health costs for everyone. We are helping people get ahead of acute and damaging health events, and keeping people out of the emergency department when they would be healthier and better served by preventive care.

National Diabetes Awareness Month is an annual event each November to boost awareness of risk factors and symptoms of diabetes. It’s also a good time to take stock of how we’re providing care, what is working, and what more is needed.

As we look to the future ― together with our partners and volunteers ― we are committed to providing more and better care to those who need it.

Jeanean Yanish Jones is the Executive Director of Health Alliance for the Uninsured. If you are interested in learning more about HAU please contact: Jeanean.Yanish@hauonline.org

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Uninsured Oklahomans with diabetes need well-rounded health care