Blood Sugar Rising: Diabetes in South Dakota

by Katy Beem

Diabetes can devastate. Often misunderstood as wholly related to over-consumption of sugar and sweets, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are chronic, progressive disorders that can damage essential body systems like the heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves. Inadequately controlled, diabetes can lead to heart attack or stroke, blindness, disabling nerve damage and amputated limbs.

That’s the bad news. Ben Tiensvold has some good news. Tiensvold is the Coordinator for the South Dakota Diabetes Coalition (SDDC). Since the late 1970s, the SDDC has collaborated with the South Dakota Department of Health to galvanize diabetes fighters across South Dakota to prevent and address the disease in the state. Tiensvold says the South Dakota Diabetes State Plan, devised by healthcare workers, diabetes educators, and other stakeholders to reduce the burden of diabetes in the state, is making its mark. “In 2018, when we were just launching the state plan, we had six or seven diabetes prevention programs,” says Tiensvold. “We’re now up to 13 and continuing to add additional diabetes prevention programs, including virtual ones, across the state.” Geographic accessibility in our sparsely populated state is a key pillar for the SDDC, so 27 recognized Diabetes SelfManagement Education and Support Programs, or DSMES programs, are now available. “Platte and Rosebud are great examples of smaller communities that benefit from local education and support programs,” says Tiensvold. “If you’re living in that area and are newly diagnosed or experience a change in your diabetes, and you need to go to a class that meets six times, a local program takes away the time and gas costs of having to travel to Mitchell or Rapid.” Socio-economic accessibility is also an issue. Insurance coverage of education programs can be missed opportunities. “The Coalition advocates to see if insurance companies or other organizations, like maybe an employer, for example, might cover the cost for a patient to participate in the National Diabetes Prevention Program,” says Tiensvold.

For Tiensvold, diabetes is both a professional and personal concern. His father’s Type 2 diagnosis was a turning point that helped Tiensvold understand intimately the value of diabetes education. “He was really not understanding how to test his blood sugar,” says Tiensvold. “He was having trouble with his blood sugar monitor not working and not really understanding diabetes as far as how he can change his diet and exercise, do carb-counting. It was really going to diabetes education that helped him to fully understand how he can live a healthy and active life, but still enjoy life as well. For him, it really came down to that education and support.”

About the Documentary

A generation ago, less than 3% of Americans had diabetes – today it’s almost 10%. It’s predicted that by 2025, half of the U.S. population will have diabetes or pre-diabetes. The new documentary Blood Sugar Rising follows the prevalence of diabetes in the U.S, where diabetes and pre-diabetes affect over 100 million people and costs more than $325 billion each year. Blood Sugar Rising puts human faces to the statistics, exploring the history and science of the illness through portraits of Americans whose stories shape the film. “Today, perhaps more than any time since insulin was discovered in the 1920s, diabetes has reached an inflection point in America,” observes Blood Sugar Rising WGBH Executive Producer Judith Vecchione. “It’s a time of great peril and great hope. The peril is in the skyrocketing rates of diabetes we’re seeing, for men, women, and children. At the same time, there’s great excitement in the diabetes community. The most amazing advances are being made in understanding the biological facts of diabetes and offering new tools to help individuals manage their disease. “

According to 2017 data from the South Dakota Department of Health, 11% of South Dakotans have been told by a doctor that they have diabetes. At 17%, American Indians demonstrate a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes than white South Dakotans at 9%. SDPB1: Wednesday, April 15, 8pm (7 MT) SDPB2: Thursday, April 16, 7pm & Midnight (6 & 11 MT)