Managing a New Diabetes Diagnosis with Help from Inspira Program

When retired truck driver, Vince Yankowski, from Logan Township, got the news after his yearly checkup that his blood glucose and A1C numbers were up, he was disappointed. Those numbers, when elevated, can lead to a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

“Hearing that I was a Type 2 diabetic was disheartening,” Vince, 67, said. “My father was diabetic and I saw what he went through. I knew I had to make a change.”

The recommended blood glucose level for most people is around 100 and A1C - which is a measure of the average of blood glucose levels over a three month period - is recommended to be at 5.6 percent or below. Vince’s test showed him at about 6.5.

Vince said he feels lucky that he was made aware of Inspira’s Diabetes Self-Management Program and Diabetes Support Group at Inspira Health Center Woodbury, and was given a referral to it by his primary care physician, Erika Milas, D.O.

Participants in the diabetes self-management program attend sessions based on their needs. The program focuses on helping patients improve their quality of life and manage their condition through medication, education, and nutrition counseling, so they can feel better and lessen their risk of complications.

Vince met with diabetes educator, Meg Herman R.N., who gave him guidelines and made sure he had the necessary testing and anything else he needed to begin participating in the program. He then met with Inspira registered dietitian and patient education manager, Gayle Gasparon, R.D. 

“Meg and Gayle were both outstanding,” he said. “Meg told me all the things I needed to do to get started. And Gayle, well she’s the best! She set me straight on a lot of things, like how and what to eat, and how to exercise portion control. She taught me how to watch my carbs and told me when I’m hungry to ‘Go to your vegetables!’. I listened and I have now dropped 30lbs and my last A1C was 5.5. One of my other doctors said, ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep it up!’”

“Gayle doesn’t lecture. She goes over things,” Vince said. “She makes me feel good about myself. She’s not just a super professional dietitian, she’s a great person. She asks me if anything is bothering me or if I don’t understand something. I truly look forward to my check-ins every other month with her.”

Vince said that his experience with Inspira has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I feel happy and safe and relaxed when I go to Inspira, because of the people. I adore Dr. Milas too. She talks to me. She listens. She reassures me.”

“If I didn’t have these guys and my wife, Linda, in my life I don’t know what I’d do,” Vince said. “I think I’d be on a downward spiral. The Inspira folks put me on the right track. The program and those people are a godsend. I think they may have saved my life. It’s not too much to say I just love Inspira.”

Learn more about the Inspira Diabetes Education Program.