The Blue Mountain Health System's diabetes education program has been awarded the American Diabetes Association Education Recognition Certificate for its quality diabetes self-management education program.

The health system's program was originally recognized in September 2011. ADA believes that this program offers high-quality education that is an essential component of effective diabetes treatment and has awarded this certificate to the health system's program for four years.The association's Education Recognition Certificate assures that educational programs meet the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. These standards were developed and tested under the auspices of the National Diabetes Advisory Board in 1983 and were revised by the diabetes community in 1994, 2000, 2007 and 2012.Programs apply for recognition voluntarily.Programs that achieve recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide participants with comprehensive information about diabetes management."The process gives professionals a national standard by which to measure the quality of services that we provide," said Susan Generose, certified diabetes educator and care coordinator of the health system's program. "Assuring high-quality education to help develop and improve patient self-care skills essential to diabetes management is one of the primary goals of the Education Recognition program and we at the Blue Mountain Health System are very proud to have been recognized."According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 29.1 million people in the United States who have diabetes.While an estimated 21 million have been diagnosed, 8.1 million people are not aware that they have this disease. Each day approximately 4,657 people are diagnosed with diabetes. Many will first learn that they have diabetes when they are treated for one of its life-threatening complications - heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and nerve disease and amputation.About 1.7 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2012 in the U.S.Diabetes contributed to 234,051 deaths in 2010, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people of similar age but without diabetes.The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading non-profit health organization supporting diabetes research, advocacy and information for health professionals, patients and the public. Founded in 1940, the Association has an area office in every state and conducts programs in communities nationwide.