Message from the Regional Facilitator
The essence of our work at Toronto Diabetes Care Connect (TDCC) centres around connection; connecting people to diabetes care, and connecting partners across the region to collaborate and achieve collective impact, ensuring equitable access to high quality, coordinated diabetes care across Toronto Region. Through strategic partnerships, data-driven frameworks, and capacity-building initiatives, TDCC is transforming the diabetes care landscape – one connection at a time.
As the Toronto population grows and the prevalence of diabetes rises, TDCC continues to connect people living with and at risk of diabetes to holistic services by operating the Toronto Central Referral Service (TCRS) and through increasing awareness about diabetes programs through a variety of outreach initiatives and events.
TDCC continues to work closely with partners to identify and collectively work towards addressing system access challenges. As the province moves ahead with primary care reform and increasing access, we see opportunities to support the further integration of Diabetes Education Programs (DEPs) to ensure that people living with diabetes have equitable access to wrap-around diabetes care. With the ongoing lower limb preservation priority, we continue to support regional, OHT and organization level initiatives that focus on improved screening and equitable access to lower limb saving care.
At the national level, Diabetes Canada in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada has been holding multi-sectoral roundtables and summits to support the implementation of the Framework for Diabetes in Canada. I had the opportunity to attend the Urban Diabetes Summit in March that took place in Edmonton. It was incredibly valuable to learn about impactful diabetes programs and initiatives that are happening in urban centres across the country. It was also an opportunity to bring forward some of the challenges that are being experienced by people living with diabetes and the programs and clinicians that support them.
We are looking forward to our ongoing collaborative work in the coming year, and want to extend a sincere thank you to all of the partners across the region who are committed to the shared goal of providing and increasing access to equitable, person-centred diabetes care and supports.