Diabetes Program

Diabetes management

Whether you are newly diagnosed with diabetes or just want to improve your control, the Joslin Center at BID-Needham provides personalized diabetes treatment options and services. We treat adults with pre-diabetes, type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Our comprehensive services include

• Individualized, patient-centered diabetes management
• Glucose monitoring, including continuous glucose monitoring
• Insulin pump therapy
• Diabetes education
• Nutrition counseling

We refer patients to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Needham, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Joslin Diabetes Center for diabetes complications, including

• Eye problems
• Nerve damage
• Kidney disease
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Foot care
• Vascular issues
• Depression

Diabetes education

At the Joslin Center, our certified diabetes educators assess patients' knowledge of diabetes and other risk factors and work with them on diabetes self-management issues, including

• Setting blood sugar, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol goals
• Monitoring blood sugar
• Nutrition instruction, including meal plans, and heart-healthy and carbohydrate-focused meal choices
• Understanding food choice/medication and food choice/exercise relationships
• Medication instruction, including oral or injectable insulin therapy and insulin pump therapy
• Educating patients about acute and chronic complications, including eye, kidney and heart disease
• Instructing patients on prevention, detection and treatment of low blood glucose

We encourage all patients to have at least one visit with a certified diabetes educator prior to a medical appointment. Studies have shown that ongoing diabetes care by a team of caregivers, including nutrition and self-management training, improves outcomes.

Nutrition counseling

While the traditionally strict "diabetic diet" has largely been replaced with increasingly liberal guidelines and a varied diet, understanding nutrition is key to a successful diabetes management program. Our registered dietitians provide ongoing advice and counseling regarding nutrition issues for people with diabetes, celiac disease, lipid disorders and dietary intolerances.