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Volunteers in Medicine wins grant to continue diabetes program

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Volunteers in Medicine, a free clinic on Hilton Head Island, treats more than 420 patients a year in its diabetes management program.

That effort will continue through 2009because of a grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation.

The Columbia-based foundation announced Wednesday it awarded $38,300 to Volunteers in Medicine, which will pay for medical supplies, lab fees, patient education and other expenses associated with diabetes treatment.

Dr. Frank Bowen, Volunteers in Medicine executive medical director, said the program costs about $40,000 to operate and that the clinic will raise what the grant doesn't cover.

Most of the clinic's diabetic patients are adults with Type 2 diabetes -- a disease, often linked to obesity, where the body either does not produce enough insulin or resists it. Insulin is necessary to fuel the body and give it energy.

The clinic's program offers patients free treatment and requires them to attend several educational seminars, which are held at the clinic every two weeks.

"It teaches them about their illness so they understand it and how to manage it," Bowen said. "So they can say, 'I'm in charge of this illness. This illness is not in charge of me.' "

Diabetes is a manageable disease that some early onset patients can reverse by losing weight, Bowen said.

Patients with severe diabetes also can manage the disease, and its side effects, with medications to prevent high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke and by paying attention to their bodies, Bowen said.

"We're extremely pleased we can continue to provide this care," Bowen said.

Volunteers in Medicine is one of 19 groups that received grants from BlueCross BlueShield to provide health care to uninsured and underinsured populations across the state. The foundation has awarded more than $18.5 million in grants since 2003.

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