Urgent attention needed for diabetic foot care
POSTED: 07/13/12 11:46 AM
St. Maarten – Charlotte Peterson, Mieke Schakel and Thea Habermehl of the Diabetes Foundation of St. Maarten presented their report on the evaluation results of the Step-by-Step Foot Care Program to the members of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise on July 10. The findings of the report indicate that public health authorities must give urgent attention to the current state of patients’ diabetic feet.
The Step-by-Step Foot Care program was implemented from August of 2011 to March 2012. A volunteer nurse and medical pedicurist of the Diabetes Foundation of St. Maarten visited 400 diabetic patients and evaluated the condition of their feet at no cost to either the clinic or the patient.
The research was a collaboration between the International Diabetes Federation, the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot, the Ledbury Rotary Club-the Rotary Club of Gloucester Severn and the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise and the Diabetes Foundation of St. Maarten. The first phase started in late August/early September 2009 and consisted of a three-day course for medical professionals presented by medical specialists and professors from various parts of Europe. The material presented had to be applied for a period of one year by the participants, and it was mandatory to participate in the second phase of the program and complete this one year later.
“The Diabetes Foundation of St. Maarten sincerely hopes that their efforts and those of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise will ultimately lead to improved foot care for the diabetic patients on our island,” a release states.
