Nurse Amelia helps educate a patient on how to live with diabetes.
The RotaCare Pittsburg Free Medical Clinic at St. Vincent de Paul offers patients education and care to manage their diabetes. Many patients coming to the free clinic have untreated diabetes with life-threatening complications. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to complications like cardiovascular disease, blindness, and nerve damage.
“Diabetes is like a horse,” said Amelia Scudiere, R.N., Clinic Care Coordinator. “You control it, or it controls you.”
At the free clinic, uninsured adults learn how to manage their disease. The free clinic has 3 certified diabetes educators. They teach patients to manage their diabetes via diet and exercise, and refer them to specialists if needed.
“These patients are motivated,” Amelia said. “They know we want to see them get better and they want to get healthy.”
