www.cuwellnessrx.com: Campbell’s one-stop health resource

     Do I have diabetes? Where can I buy diabetic shoes? Do I need a prescription for my insulin and supplies? Is my medicine covered by Medicaid?
     Frequently asked questions by people suffering from diabetes or related illnesses are sometimes difficult to answer without a lot of footwork, but a new Web site developed by the Campbell University School of Pharmacy, www.cuwellnessrx.com or Wellness Information Center, helps provide the answers—all in one place.
     “What we discovered is that there is a tremendous amount of information available that pertains to diabetes, but it’s not compiled in one location,” said Dr. Ronald Maddox, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “Campbell’s Wellness Information Center offers a resource for diabetes patients and health care professionals in Harnett County. It provides an excellent source of information and promotes the awareness of diabetes, its prevention and management, at one convenient Web site. We also hope to promote the position of the community pharmacist in diabetes management,” Maddox said.
     Brought online on July 1, the Wellness Information Web site is the product of a team of pharmacists and other professionals who came together to develop this much needed service. The site supervisor, Dr. Connie Barnes, is the director of the Campbell University Drug Information Center, which is a major training site for the School of Pharmacy.
     “The Wellness Information Center Web site is a kind of clearinghouse for information in our area of Harnett County,” said Dr. Barnes. “In addition to providing information on the disease of diabetes, we’re trying to identify the agencies and organizations in the county where patients and practitioners can get help, find out what programs they offer and include them on the site. Eventually we would like to extend this service into the surrounding counties.”
     A very user-friendly Web site, the Wellness Information Center Home Page contains links to information about diabetes; frequently asked questions about the disease; helpful links to other resources such as the American Diabetes Association, lists and descriptions of patient and professional resources located in Harnett County; diabetes care and management services; upcoming workshops and events such as vision screenings and nutrition workshops; and facts about the impact of the disease on Harnett County residents.
     Figures from the North Carolina Center for Health Statistics report that approximately 5,900 people in Harnett County have been diagnosed with diabetes and over 1,500 people have undiagnosed diabetes. Another 19,000 residents in the county have never been tested for the disease.
     With the federal government’s “Healthy People 2010” initiative, which presents 467 objectives to improve the health of Americans by the year 2010, pharmacy schools across the nation will probably be required to implement wellness and disease prevention programs, Dr. Barnes added. “The Wellness Information Center Web site is a fantastic concept,” she said.
     The Wellness Information Center Web site pilot program received $15,000 in funding from the Carolina Pharmacy Network Foundation. Drs. Kathy Webster, Jennifer Lazo, Vikki Armstrong and Cheryl Horlen and staff members Emily Bloom, Kathy Monaghan and Angela Rivera also contributed to the Web site’s development. John Skuce, technology instructor for Computing Services, and Darla Dietz, Web administrator, designed the site.


 

Bulletin 0030-7/18/05