{"id":54331,"date":"2019-02-21T16:19:18","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T21:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/?p=54331"},"modified":"2019-05-31T14:23:03","modified_gmt":"2019-05-31T18:23:03","slug":"2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/","title":{"rendered":"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.95&#8243; next_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; locked=&#8221;on&#8221; global_module=&#8221;50325&#8243;][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title global_parent=&#8221;50325&#8243; meta=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.105&#8243; title_level=&#8221;h2&#8243; title_font=&#8221;Poppins|500||on||||#84bfdf|&#8221; title_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; title_font_size=&#8221;42px&#8221; title_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; title_text_color=&#8221;#022d57&#8243; title_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; background_color=&#8221;rgba(255,255,255,0.65)&#8221; background_image=&#8221;https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/35511297-medical-background-.jpg&#8221; background_blend=&#8221;saturation&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;#ec841d&#8221; border_style_all=&#8221;dashed&#8221; border_color_bottom=&#8221;#5c89c7&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;80px||60px|&#8221; title=&#8221;on&#8221; author=&#8221;on&#8221; date=&#8221;on&#8221; categories=&#8221;on&#8221; comments=&#8221;on&#8221; featured_placement=&#8221;below&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_background=&#8221;off&#8221; title_font_size_tablet=&#8221;34px&#8221; title_font_size_phone=&#8221;28px&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;on&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_fullwidth_post_title][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; prev_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.7&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-54437\" src=\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Juliet-Opoku-Photo-300x217.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Juliet-Opoku-Photo-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Juliet-Opoku-Photo-768x554.jpg 768w, https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Juliet-Opoku-Photo-610x440.jpg 610w, https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Juliet-Opoku-Photo.jpg 805w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>February 21, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbove and beyond\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s the name of the recognition program award which Juliet Opoku earned a whopping five times during a tenure at Windsor Regional Hospital earlier in her career, based on recognition from patients and their families of practitioners who go beyond their duties to improve hospital stays. But there\u2019s also no truer description of Juliet\u2019s overarching approach to patient care than those three words.<\/p>\n<p>Winner of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre Educator of the Year Award for 2018, Juliet sees her role as going far beyond standard care metrics, connecting patients most likely to be underserved by the healthcare system with resources to improve not only diabetes outcomes but their whole lives \u2013 whether that means free insulin testing strips or a referral for legal aid to deal with immigration issues.<\/p>\n<p>As a registered nurse and diabetes educator at <a href=\"http:\/\/unisonhcs.org\/\">Unison Health and Community Services<\/a> in Toronto, Juliet works within some of the city\u2019s most impoverished communities to provide counselling for type 2 diabetics and their families. Having arrived in Canada at age 13 as an immigrant from Ghana, Juliet sees herself and her family in her clients\u2019 struggles to get past barriers such as language and immigration status to obtain quality diabetes care.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing an immigrant myself and having relocated to a new place where I didn\u2019t know the language very well, we didn\u2019t know a lot of people, I know how health can deteriorate,\u201d Juliet says. \u201cWe lived in social housing and had to go to food banks and wear second-hand clothes. I know how little you feel and how unimportant you feel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To Juliet, who first became interested in diabetes while working within indigenous communities, caring for vulnerable populations means going beyond basics such as blood sugar monitoring, diet and nutrition, to discuss other areas of her clients\u2019 lives that may be affecting their health. \u201cDiabetes health is affected by everything,\u201d she says. \u201cStress affects blood sugar, what we\u2019re eating \u2013 everything affects blood sugar and can lead to complications if it\u2019s not managed well. But for these clients, unless you dive into their backgrounds, it\u2019s hard to know what\u2019s really happening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs you build a rapport with clients, as they become more comfortable, they start to relay what\u2019s really happening,\u201d Juliet says. For one client, peeling back the layers revealed the woman was sleeping on a makeshift bed made of phonebooks, which was taking an added toll on her health. Juliet had an extra mattress at home and arranged to have it delivered to the client\u2019s house. \u201cJuliet changed my life,\u201d that client wrote in a letter supporting the nurse\u2019s application for Diabetes Educator of the Year. \u201cShe works tirelessly \u2026 to help improve the lives of her clients living with diabetes. She never let(s) you leave her office without &#8230; reminding you that you are important, that you matter, that she cares and things will get better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Juliet\u2019s dedication to going above and beyond encompasses more than individual patients \u2013 she\u2019s made it a mission to play a role in improving diabetes care across the board, participating in the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network\u2019s Insulin Standards Working Group to review programs across the country and develop best practices for insulin training programs. As a member of Unison\u2019s diabetes education centre quality improvement committee, she plays a key role in initiatives such as chart audits \u2013 including developing internal guidelines and processes \u2013 developing resources for the foot care clinic and insulin training, and establishing client surveys to identify areas where clients\u2019 needs may be underserved. Among her ongoing volunteer activities, she helps to source supplies such as insulin pen needles for children with type 1 diabetes who come from Portuguese immigrant families that are not eligible for OHIP. \u201cWithout these initiatives, these clients wouldn\u2019t have any way to manage their disease,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Often this means working well beyond her Monday to Friday shifts at Unison, applying for supplies and speaking in the community to promote awareness about diabetes and public health resources. \u201cIt was part of my upbringing to give back,\u201d Juliet says. \u201cGrowing up in Ghana, my grandmother and my mother were very charity oriented. They taught me that you always have something to give back, you can always help somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Diabetes Educator of the Year, Juliet says she hopes she inspires her own four children \u2013 who range in age from six to eleven \u2013 and nieces and nephews to find their own way to do the same. \u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re all trying to survive\u201d. If someone needs a helping hand, you help them. Never think you\u2019re better or above anyone. We\u2019re all people. \u00a0Be a blessing to everyone whom you come across. Be a human in everything you do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":54326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year - QUEST - Quality Education &amp; Safety<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year - QUEST - Quality Education &amp; Safety\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"QUEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-21T21:19:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-05-31T18:23:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Juliet-Opoku-Photo_edited-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"828\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"529\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sanam Tajadod\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sanam Tajadod\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sanam Tajadod\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/dae4981edbdee768da260e73bd20fe02\"},\"headline\":\"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-21T21:19:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-31T18:23:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/\"},\"wordCount\":984,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/\",\"name\":\"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year - QUEST - Quality Education &amp; Safety\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-21T21:19:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-31T18:23:03+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/\",\"name\":\"QUEST\",\"description\":\"Quality Education &amp; Safety\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Diabetes Quest\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Logo-Quest.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Logo-Quest.png\",\"width\":354,\"height\":106,\"caption\":\"Diabetes Quest\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/dae4981edbdee768da260e73bd20fe02\",\"name\":\"Sanam Tajadod\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22a3d042a0bbd1674961b0ea83ac16c7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22a3d042a0bbd1674961b0ea83ac16c7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sanam Tajadod\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/author\/sanamtajadod\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year - QUEST - Quality Education &amp; Safety","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year - QUEST - Quality Education &amp; Safety","og_description":"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year.","og_url":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/","og_site_name":"QUEST","article_published_time":"2019-02-21T21:19:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-05-31T18:23:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":828,"height":529,"url":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Juliet-Opoku-Photo_edited-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sanam Tajadod","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sanam Tajadod","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/"},"author":{"name":"Sanam Tajadod","@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/dae4981edbdee768da260e73bd20fe02"},"headline":"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year","datePublished":"2019-02-21T21:19:18+00:00","dateModified":"2019-05-31T18:23:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/"},"wordCount":984,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#organization"},"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/","url":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/","name":"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year - QUEST - Quality Education &amp; Safety","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-02-21T21:19:18+00:00","dateModified":"2019-05-31T18:23:03+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/2018bbdcdiabeteseducatoroftheyear\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Juliet Opoku named 2018 BBDC Diabetes Educator of the Year"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/","name":"QUEST","description":"Quality Education &amp; Safety","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#organization","name":"Diabetes Quest","url":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Logo-Quest.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Logo-Quest.png","width":354,"height":106,"caption":"Diabetes Quest"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/dae4981edbdee768da260e73bd20fe02","name":"Sanam Tajadod","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22a3d042a0bbd1674961b0ea83ac16c7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22a3d042a0bbd1674961b0ea83ac16c7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sanam Tajadod"},"url":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/author\/sanamtajadod\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54331"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54331"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54445,"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54331\/revisions\/54445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diabetesquest.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}