ACE Diabetes

ACE Diabetes was established in 2012 to address the overwhelming need in The Bahamas for diabetes awareness and the challenge of managing diabetes daily. The ultimate goal is to reduce the burden of diabetes on individuals, families, communities, and healthcare systems, and, by supporting good health, prevent or delay the onset of diabetes-related long-term complications.

Awareness

“Awareness is not just noticing what is going on around you, but what is going on within you as well.” Unknown

Raising awareness in The Bahamas of this ever-growing disease is one of the main efforts behind the mission of ACE. In 2005 the Communicable Disease Prevalence Study, conducted by the Bahamian Ministry of Health, showed that 6.7% (23,000) of the Population had Pre-Diabetes and 9.2% (32,000) had diabetes. The public must be made aware of the need to recognize diabetes early and how to prevent diabetes and the serious health consequences of diabetes (International Diabetes Federation 2011).

Compassion

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” Dalai Lama

ACE Diabetes informs, inspires, and shows compassion to people who are impacted by diabetes, and in the process, positively affects lives and facilitates improved quality of life.

Education

“The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” Herbert Spencer

All people with diabetes and those at risk of diabetes, no matter where they live, have the right to learn about diabetes, how it can be prevented, how it can be managed effectively and how to access educational and clinical resources (International Diabetes Federation 2011).

ACE Diabetes is dedicated to providing a high standard of Diabetes Self-Management Education. ACE believes diabetes self-management education is a critically important, fundamental and integral component of diabetes prevention and care and should be available and accessible to everyone (International Diabetes Federation 2011).The purpose of diabetes self-management education (DSME) and diabetes self-management support (DSMS) is to prepare those affected by diabetes to:

• Make informed decisions.
• Cope with the demands of living daily with a complex chronic disease
• Make changes in their behaviour that support their self-management efforts and improve outcomes.

ACE Diabetes is all about diabetes in real life.  ACE aims to empower people by considering the whole person, including their physical social, emotional, spiritual, and financial needs.