History and Composition of the Diabetes Coalition of Santa Clara County

The Diabetes Coalition of Santa Clara County has been in existence since March 2002. Earlier that year, the grants staff of the Health Trust had noted an increase in the number and urgency of requests for support for diabetes programs from a wide range of providers and organizations throughout the region. The proposals all noted critical gaps in diabetes prevention, early detection, access to care, and case management, yet neither the proposals not the proposed programs were linked or strategically coordinated. In an effort to stimulate program coordination and strategic thinking about diabetes in Santa Clara County, The Health Trust, along with the Community Health Partnership and the Diabetes Society of Santa Clara Valley, convened a meeting of 25 different provider groups, non-profit organizations, researchers, health plans and local hospitals, nurse parish programs, and local foundations. This was the beginning of the Diabetes Coalition of Santa Clara County.

The group met for over a year to establish its mission, vision, and priority areas. With the guidance of an organizational development consultant, they conducted a SWOT analysis, assessed service gaps, and explored optimal coalition size and composition. During this period, an exciting new initiate, Healthy Santa Clara County Collaborative, was emerging with leadership and support from Diabetes Coalition members. This imitative, later named Healthy Silicon Valley was designed as a broad based effort to reduce obesity and increase physical activity in the region. With funding from several local foundations, Healthy Silicon Valley was well positioned to address primary prevention of diabetes, including public education and awareness. This allowed the Diabetes Coalition to focus on the complex issues related to screening, early detection, and comprehensive treatment of people with diabetes. It also focused the Coalition’s efforts on the providers, systems, and decision makers involved in diabetes care.

In 2003, the Diabetes Coalition adopted the Chronic Care model as the conceptual framework for a countrywide system of care. The Chronic Care model, developed by Dr. Ed Wagner of Improving Chronic Illness Care (ICIC), is a comprehensive approach to monitoring and managing patient care. It is particularly well suited to diabetes. However, full implementation of the Chronic Care model will require nothing short of a transformation of the current diabetes care system from one which is essentially reactive and responsive to sick people to a system that is proactive and focused on keeping patients as healthy as possible. This transformation is the Diabetes Coalition’s goal.

The Diabetes Coalition of Santa Clara County is an open, community-based group of providers, organizations, and individuals working together to implement the chronic care model throughout the system of diabetes care in Santa Clara County. Because of particular service gaps and their implications, the Coalition’s primary focus is low-income, underserved populations. However, Coalition members understand the critical importance of a coordinated system of care for all people living with or at risk for diabetes. Everyone interested in working towards this goal is welcome to join the Coalition. The group meets regularly, as a full coalition and in three committees, to coordinate its strategic efforts. The Coalition is closely associated with the statewide diabetes program. The Health Trust provides operational support for the Diabetes Coalition of Santa Clara County.