Reighard & Paske Recognized for Diabetes Care in Southwest Montana

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The dynamic duo of Ida Reighard and Marcus Paske were awarded the 'Advancing the Vision in Quality Care Award' as part of the annual diabetes professional conference sponsored by the Montana Diabetes Program & the Montana Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES).

Ida Reighard, RN, CDE is a Diabetes Education Coordinator and Marcus Paske, PharmD, BCACP, AE-C, CPP, is an Ambulatory Clinical Pharmacist with St. James Healthcare, now part of Intermountain Healthcare. They worked together on an 18-month quality improvement project, with the goal of incorporating pharmacy and diabetes education into provider practices and patient care management. Prior to the project, clinical pharmacists were not part of the primary care clinic and referrals to diabetes care and education services (DCES) were stagnant.

“When we started the project, we found primary care providers that were very focused on teamwork. So we were able to inform them of what type of care we could offer their diabetic patients,” said Reighard. “ So now we've become part of their referral pattern so when they get a new patient with diabetes the provider can get them in touch with Marcus to assist with their medication and with me for diabetes education.”

Through their teamwork, the results were staggering. The average A1C levels of the patients referred dropped from 10.4% (abnormal) on the initial visit to 7.2% (at or close to goal) on the repeat exam. On an individual level, some results were astounding. In fact, one patient had an A1C of 16.1% at the time of referral to Marcus and Ida and after working with the team, the patient’s A1C dropped to 5.1%. These results show the strength and impact of their team-based care which occurred routinely. 

“We were really focused on getting the patients we were referred into team-based care. That way we could track those patients to measure their outcomes. We've tracked some patients for over two years now and we are seeing some really good outcomes,” said Paske. "I think we had 77 patients that were referred to us in that two-year time and then of those patients, we assisted 95% of them to reach their A1C level goal,  so their diabetes is under control.

Team-based care is an important part of healthcare quality and a problematic project to conquer. The team of Marcus and Ida worked together, sought solutions to struggles, and has become a prime example of what can be accomplished when caregivers work together.

Through this award and four other awards, the Diabetes Professional Conference recognizes those healthcare professionals and/or organizations who are supporting positive change and making an impact in their communities and patients who are at risk for or living with diabetes.