The Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES) has officially introduced its new strategic plan, which will be enacted now through 2028.

Every four years, ADCES leadership and its Board of Directors come together to develop a plan that will advance the association’s efforts to support and provide resources for diabetes care and education specialists (DCES) and to grow the specialty.  

The 2024-2028 plan serves to accomplish three main goals:

1. Improve access to diabetes care and education.
2. Advance the expertise of the diabetes care and education specialist.
3. Grow and diversify ADCES membership.

“These three goals are intertwined,” said ADCES Immediate Past President Lucille Hughes, DNP, MSN/Ed, CDCES, BC-ADM, FADCES. “To gain the respect we deserve as a valued member of the care team, it’s imperative that we possess the skills, tools and knowledge that promote our expertise in diabetes care, management and education. With value comes opportunities and job security. With expertise comes respect which will drive a desire for others to become a DCES. By growing opportunities, we grow access to care and access to a DCES, which in turn will allow us to impact more lives of those at risk for and living with diabetes.”

The plan outlines specific objectives geared toward each department across the association that will ultimately impact these three main goals. The plan is largely in line with work the association has already been doing in regard to increasing membership, diversity and access, including the ongoing partnerships on cooperative agreements with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Emory Centers to increase access to diabetes prevention and education for priority populations throughout the country.

“Each of us can only work so much and see so many people, and therefore we need to grow the number of DCESs across the board,” said ADCES President Jane K. Dickinson, RN, PhD, CDCES. “We need DCESs in urban and rural areas, and we need them to have access to the resources available at ADCES.”

View the current strategic plan in full here.

Media Contact: Danielle McNary at [email protected]