A quick note from Gary…Excuse My Spanish.

Around this time of year, many businesses evaluate their success by checking their year-end balance sheet and comparing it to the goals established before the year started.  Personally, I prefer to go back and re-read the mission statement I penned more than 20 years ago:  Do everything in our power to empower people with diabetes, especially those who must use insulin. 

Nowhere does it say that we should limit our services to people who live in a certain area, have a certain amount of disposable income, or speak a certain language.  We’ve already established services globally through a variety of communication media.  We’re flexible with our fees (perhaps to a fault) so as not to exclude anyone for financial reasons.  Now, for the first time, we’re ready to tackle the language barrier. 

As you’ll see in the article below, we have brought a bilingual clinician to our practice, whose sole mission is to serve the needs of Spanish-speaking patients.  Annette Valle, RN/BSN/CDE, is more than just a nurse and certified diabetes educator who happens to have some Spanish skills.  She’s a certified medical language interpreter who uses Spanish every day.  She also has type-1 diabetes and is intimately familiar with all the latest gadgets and technologies.

The way we found Annette was a bit of a miracle.  After a long discussion with a patient in Panama about the unmet needs of Spanish-speaking Type-1s, our team got together and decided that we should try to find a bilingual clinician.  THE VERY NEXT DAY, I received an unsolicited email from a nurse in Utah who was looking for work.  She was a Certified Diabetes Educator.  And she had a lifetime of personal experience living with type-1 diabetes.  And she was into all the latest technology.  And she had a wonderful personality.  And she knew Spanish better than I know English. 

Today, Annette is part of our team and available to work with anyone you know who speaks Spanish.  Thanks for helping us spread the word!

And may you enjoy some Holiday Miracles of your own.

– Gary

Gary Scheiner MS, CDE
Owner & Clinical Director