Congratulations to our winners for Diabetes Educator!
Please read on to learn about their incredible achievements and work.
Abigail Chesterson, RD, LDN, CDCES
Abigail "Abbie" Chesterson is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES). She has over 8 years of experience working with patients with diabetes. In her current position as the Director of the Diabetes Education Center at Pennsylvania Hospital, Abbie leads a team of RDs and CDCES’ who work with patients to increase their understanding and mastery of living with diabetes. The Diabetes Education Center at Pennsylvania Hospital works with patients with all types of diabetes and takes special interest in those with blindness and low vision. The team takes pride in helping people live longer, healthier lives with diabetes.
To learn more about the Pennsylvania Hospital Diabetes Education Center, please visit: https://www.pennmedicine.org/for-patients-and-visitors/find-a-program-or-service/endocrinology-diabetes-and-metabolism/pennsylvania-hospital-diabetes-education-center
Kim Ladd, RN, BS, CPHQ, CDCES
Kim Ladd, RN, BS, CPHQ, CDCES is the Diabetes Educator/ Health Education Specialist for the Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired (VRCBVI)/ Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI). The mission of VRCBVI is to prepare blind, vision impaired, and DeafBlind Virginians for employment/employability and personal independence through the integration of individualized comprehensive blindness skills and employment skills and experiences. Kim supports this vision in her role as the Diabetes Educator/ Health Education Specialist by educating and empowering vision-impaired clients to independently manage their diabetes and other chronic diseases with the use of adaptive techniques, low vision aids, accessible devices, and problem-solving, so that they can be healthy enough to live the life they imagine. Her mission is for no one to let blindness be an excuse for not taking care of their health. Kim has been a registered nurse for almost 30 years, having received her RN Diploma from Richmond Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and her Bachelor of Science degree from Bellevue University. She is also a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, a Master Trainer for the Stanford University-developed Diabetes Self-Management and Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs, and a certified American Red Cross instructor. After having taught diabetes self-management in the home health and community settings for years, she began working at DBVI in 2015.
To learn more about the Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired (VRCBVI), please visit: https://www.vrcbvi.virginia.gov/