Horizon Health Staff Maintain Diabetes Educator Status

Horizon Health’s Debbie Griffin, family nurse practitioner, and Leighsa Cornwell, registered nurse, continue to receive national recognition for their excellence in educating patients about diabetes self-management.

Each has renewed her status as a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) through the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators.

Certified diabetes educators possess comprehensive knowledge of, and experience in, diabetes management, prediabetes, and diabetes prevention. They address the stages of diabetes throughout a person’s lifespan and understand all aspects related to managing the disease. Currently, more than 19,000 diabetes educators hold the CDE certification.

Cornwell leads Horizon Health’s Diabetes Education Program, which has been recognized by the American Diabetes Association since 1994. She replaced Griffin who transitioned to a family nurse practitioner in the Paris Clinic in 2011.

Griffin has been affiliated with Horizon Health since 1984. During her tenure, she has significantly contributed to the success of the organization’s Diabetes Education Program and continues to maintain her status as a certified diabetes educator.

Horizon Health’s Diabetes Education Program consists of Leighsa Cornwell, RN, BS, CDE, and Kara Wilcoxon, MS, RDN, LDN, registered dietician nutritionist. Edward Rico, MD, endocrinologist, is the medical director of the program. Additionally, the department is supported by Debbie Griffin, APRN, FNP, CDE, and Philip Holloway, DPM, podiatrist and board certified wound specialist.

Patients seen at Horizon Health in 2018 experienced a relative reduction of 21 percent on average in their A1c results. A glycohemoglobin A1c test checks the long-term control of glucose levels, an average blood sugar over a two- to three-month period.

To learn more about diabetes education at Horizon Health, call (217) 466-4228.