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Vallejo Diabetes School – a joint project between La Crosse and Dubna, Russia to educate physicians, diabetics and their families in the self-management of diabetes
Goal: To develop a model self-management program for diabetics and their families; to train endocrinologists and other health professionals in diabetes management.
Major achievements: This program, spanning from 1993 to the present, accomplished much, as noted by the Gore/Chernomyrdin Health Committee in 1996. At that time, Eli Lilly also donated a substantial amount of insulin and related diabetes products for the effort. The Vallejo School was named after the late La Crosse physician, Walter Vallejo, who devoted much time, great talents, and many resources toward the start of this program. His goal was to develop sustainable programs in diabetes education and training designed to address both Type I and Type II diabetes in children and adults. Following are some major accomplishments of this effort:
- Since 1993, more than 800 of the estimated 1,000 diabetics in Dubna (population 65,000) have been trained in the Diabetes School. More than 300 family members and medical personnel were also trained.
- In the first three years of the program, sharp reductions in hospitalizations due to diabetic complications have been realized.
- A decline in the average length of stay for patients hospitalized with diabetes related conditions from 33 days in 1992 to 20 days in 1995; a fivefold drop in hospital admissions of patients in diabetic comas (since 1992)
- Average levels of insulin use among patients enrolled in the program dropped about 30 percent for insulin dependent and 24 percent for non-insulin dependent patients
- Dubna City Health Administration reported a health care savings of about 188 million rubles (thousands of U.S. dollars) as a result of the program
- The Russian Federation has identified the Dubna Center as a central training facility for the Moscow Oblast and other areas throughout Russia
Impact: The Dubna model has been successfully replicated in Russian cities of Balasicha, Krasnogorsk, Dmitrov, and at the Pirogov First Municipal Hospital in Moscow. The education program has given children and adult diabetics the tools and confidence to manage their disease, and at the same time, made health care delivery for diabetes more efficient and cost-effective for Dubna.
Additional highlights: Vallejo Diabetes School has collaborated with the Russian Ministry of Health, the American International Health Alliance, Eli Lilly Company, the Moscow Oblast Health Administration, and the World Health Organization in this project.
Funding: This project was supported by a grant of approximately $350,000 from the American International Health Alliance utilizing funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development and managed by staff of World Services of La Crosse, Inc. Additional resources of nearly one million dollars were provided by the Eli Lilly Company, Indianapolis, Indiana.