The Diabetes and Endocrine Center at Nashoba Valley Medical Center

Our new location: Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Medical Office Building, Suite 150, Ayer, MA 01432

For over a decade, our Diabetes and Endocrine Center has been dedicated to helping people with diabetes, their families and caregivers understand the intricacies of diabetes-how to treat it, and how to manage it. Nashoba Valley Medical Center (NVMC) houses this outpatient facility, offering area residents the opportunity to utilize the treatment, knowledge and expertise of our endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, nurses and staff.

Programs and Services 

The NVMC Diabetes Team

The Diabetes and Endocrine Center provides a team of clinicians- physicians, a nurse practitioner, diabetes nurse educators and dietician who are certified diabetes educators (CDE), to work with patients and their families. They help you manage the interactions of diet, medication, exercise and other factors to bring blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible. The team evaluates current knowledge about diabetes, nutrition and diet, and builds an individualized diabetes self-management program for each patient. Our goal is to help you avoid or minimize diabetes-related complications and to maximize your overall health.

We also have our Support Staff which includes certified medical assistants & our Secretarial Staff to assit you and your families.

Physicians

The physicians specialize in diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic disorders, including thyroid, pituitary and lipid problems. The physicians meets with patients during their initial assessment and continues to coordinate and oversee patients' overall treatment plans and medical management. Working with the nurse educator and dietician, the physician develops specific treatment plans to meet each patient's individual needs.

Nurse Practitioner

The nurse practitioner specializes in diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic disorders, including thyroid and lipid problems. The nurse practitioner meets patients between physician visits for assessment, diagnosis and treatment of an individual's responses to his/her condition, medications, and treatments. Working with the physician, nurse educator, and dietician, the nurse practitioner provides direct care and prescribes pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment.

Certified Diabetes Nurse Educator

Our nurses are certified diabetes educators who have successfully met requirements for national certification in diabetes management. This advanced preparation allows our educator to assess, plan and implement a unique, individualized education program based on the patient's present level of knowledge about diabetes, as well as effective management strategies. With intensive experience in diabetes education and counseling, the educator also provides state-of-the-art information to optimize diabetes treatment.

Dietitian

A registered dietitian and CDE has extensive training in medical nutrition therapy, with a specialty in diabetes. Working with patients and their medical records, the dietician completes a medical and nutrition history, taking into consideration the present level of diabetes management, food preferences, individual goals for lipid counts, weight and mean planning.

Group education sessions offered:

 The incidence of Type 2 diabetes is increasing as the population ages and obesity continues to be more prevalent. As healthcare professionals we need to serve more patients, but often have less time to do so. As our specific understanding of diabetes  increases there are more complext topics to cover. We need to help patients understand and more effectively assume responsibility for managing their diabetes.

We offer a series of small group sessions on the following topics:

• Managing Your Diabetes: Covers the basics and how this relates to managing diabetes.
• Diabetes and Healthy Eating: Discusses the connection between food and diabetes and the importance of healthy eating
• Monitoring your Blood Glucose: Discusses the importance of monitoring your blood sugar, managing highs and lows to use the results to better manage your diabetes.
• Continue the Journey with Diabetes: Covers the complex concepts of diabetes including the natural course of diabetes, medicine options and the long - term complications of diabetes.

These groups are offered quarterly throughout the year. Each session is two hours in length, held each week, for four weeks. You may participate in one of all of the topics offered. 

We’re excited about getting back to meeting again at the Diabetes Support Group! Come join us, and share your accomplishments and the challenges you experienced this summer with your

Diabetes Support Group
Date: 1st Wednesday of the month (first meeting
September 1, 2010)
Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm
Location: Founder's Room
Insulin Pump Support Group 
Date: 2nd Wednesday of the month (First meeting September 8, 2010)
Time: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Location: Founders Room
Contact Pamela Massucco or Alice Vergados at 978-784-9452 

Ayer MA: 
Recently family and friends gathered to honor Littleton resident Jacqueline Ellicks at the NashobaValleyMedicalCenter, located at 200 Groton Rd, Ayer, MA. Jacqueline, a 50 year survivor with diabetes, was bestowed the Joslin and the Lilly for Life medals by Judith Pentedemos, FNP, of the Diabetes and Endocrine Center at Nashoba Valley Medical Center. 
Pentedemos in presenting the awards described Jackie as a “thriver with diabetes” and then read the congratulations that came via mail and email by those unable to attend.   Ellicks spoke of the many advances that she has seen in diabetes management over the years. She is thankful for these advances, as she finds diabetes management, not necessarily easier, but better now that she manages with and insulin pump.
For the family and friends of Ellicks, the day was one of rejoice. Her friend Betty noted how Jackie handled her Diabetes with grace and dignity. Her son Chris, a fireman/EMT in Acton, MA reported his pride for his mom as she taught by example the importance of taking care of your health no matter how difficult. He recalled his child hood, which he found to be like that of his classmates; his mom never used her diabetes as an excuse for herself or the children not to participate in family, school, or church activities.
The Joslin medal, the brainchild of Dr. Elliot Joslin, founder of the JoslinCenter in Boston, MA, is given to an individual who has survived 50 years with diabetes. Joslin realized that this milestone was of extreme importance as it was once believed that individuals with diabetes would succumb to this disease or a complication of the disease before such time. Today, unlike 1948 when the first award was given, more persons with diabetes are able to achieve this milestone.
Initially, in 1948 The Blue Ribbon award was given by Joslin to persons who had survived 25 years with diabetes. This was replaced in 1970 with the bronzed Olympic like medal that is given to 50 year survivors today.
In 1974, Eli Lilly established the Lilly for Life Award with a Sterling Silver medal being bestowed upon individuals who have a 50 year history of insulin use.  As insulin became available in 1922, Lilly recognized that people were living much longer with diabetes than before and attributed their success to the use of insulin.
You can obtain information about the Joslin and Eli Lilly awards by calling the Diabetes and EndocrineCenter at NashobaValleyMedicalCenter at (978) 784-9534.