Read about Sherry, a Community Health & Dental Care patient who was struggling to get her diabetes under control, and Lauren, one of CHDC’s Nurse Care Managers who was able to help change her life for the better.

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What CHDC services have you used?

Sherry: Medical, Care Management, Diabetes and You! classes with PMSI, and EatFresh cooking classes with Chester County Food Bank.

Who at CHDC has had the most positive impact on your health?

Sherry: Lauren has. She’s very friendly. She teaches me things that I need to know, and if she can’t figure out what I need, she gets somebody else to help me. She’s been very good about that.

Lauren: Sherry did attend our diabetes education classes that we hold with PMSI and cooking classes here with Chester County Food Bank. They [the classes] also helped Sherry with her diabetes care.

Sherry: She tells me the truth. And sometimes I don’t like what she has to say, but I know that what she’s saying is true. She tells me things for my own good. I mean, she listens to me, and we work together on what she feels I need. And if I get in a jam, she helps me out. She’s accessible.

How have the Diabetes and You! and cooking classes at CHDC improved your life?

Sherry: I get to interact with people because I’m retired now and I spend a lot of time by myself. Classes are really fun! I’ve learned how to do a lot of new things. I make things that I never ate before.

What advice would you give to someone experiencing the same thing you were?

Sherry: I just reconnected with a girlfriend that I’ve had for years. We kind of fell out because our lives just went in different directions. But she told me she was going to a doctor and was complaining about him. And I said, “You’ve got to go to Community Health & Dental Care.” I said, “They’ve been so helpful for me with my diabetes.”

Lauren: It sounds simple, but it’s important for the patient to engage with their care team. They just have to do their part as far as coming to their appointments and letting the providers and/or their Care Manager know if something’s going awry. This way, we can remedy it instead of waiting until their next appointment. They have to do their part to let us know what’s going on, so that we can direct them or help them. If they don’t let us know while we can still remedy the situation, then it puts them behind in their treatment, and it’s frustrating on our end too.

How would you describe CHDC in a word?

Sherry: Helpful. That’s a perfect word.

How is CHDC different from other healthcare providers?

Lauren: We make it work. We work as a team. And it is a team effort! She has to do her part. But sometimes, I have to do some investigating to figure out what’s going on. And between what she tells me and what I can find out, we get the whole story and then we can move forward.

What is one thing you want other people to know about CHDC?

Sherry: What the doctors don’t cover, [Lauren] does. She fixes the issues that come up. Yes, it takes a team. Absolutely takes a team, and fortunately I have the best. That’s it. Lauren is the best. I mean, she listens to me, and we work together on what she feels I need. And if I get in a jam, she helps me out.

Is there anything else you want people to know?

Lauren: There’s a lot of moving parts, and with diabetes, patients have to keep up on all aspects of their health. It’s not just their diabetes appointments, they have to make sure they’re getting all their regular checkups because diabetes affects the whole body. You can’t really drop balls. When balls get dropped, even when it’s nothing the patient did necessarily, then it does get frustrating and some patients don’t persevere. Sherry persevered, and now she feels better enough to look for a part-time job.

If you would like to learn more about our Care Management services, please call 610-326-9460 to speak with a Patient Services Representative.