MOBEC Busy Throughout Pandemic
TUC's MOBEC Team Busy Throughout the Pandemic; Trailer Back On The Road
Most people are familiar with Willie Nelson’s classic tune, On the Road Again, where he sings about bringing Diabetes Prevention and Education Programs to the masses.
No wait.
That’s MOBEC. Touro’s Mobile Diabetes Education Center hit a major roadblock as lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic brought most aspects of life to a screeching halt.
With many in-person restrictions being lifted throughout the state, MOBEC has dusted off, greased the wheels and has been making rounds once again. While the physical MOBEC trailer had the brakes put on, the MOBEC team didn’t slow down a bit.
If anything, the group gained momentum, knowing COVID-19 had occupied such a big space in people’s minds that they might forget about or put off beneficial diabetes and lifestyle change programs.
Beginning March 18, 2020, the MOBEC team began a social media campaign, which allowed those who needed it access to vital pre-diabetes and diabetes awareness programs.
As many as five times a week, the team sent out information related to prediabetes, diabetes and hypertension care/management tips, resources and support, healthy cooking recipes and videos, healthy eating tips and information, exercise tips, resources and videos, Solano County community information and resources, and health or COVID-related posts from reputable agencies and organizations.
Social media was only the beginning. Without students and faculty on campus during the lockdown – and thus no need for campus dining services – the MOBEC team took advantage of Touro Executive Chef Ray Nottie, who created a series of YouTube videos with healthy, easy-to-prepare, family-friendly meals.
The popular series has gotten hundreds of views on YouTube, with the number climbing each day.
Video is where the team really hit its stride, creating a Connect with MOBEC YouTube series, which has been viewed more than a thousand times from May to November of 2020.
The group also made use of the familiar teleconferencing service most people were using in their “work-from-home” situations. Zoom Into Wellness launched in November of 2020 and featured sessions on healthy eating, mind and body fitness, dealing with chronic conditions and two sessions on how to survive the holiday eating bonanza.
These highly popular sessions had interdisciplinary input from faculty and students from a number of Touro programs.
The focus wasn’t simply on pre-diabetes and diabetes. In November of 2020, MOBEC partnered with joined Sutter Solano Medical Center/Sutter Health’s Community Benefits; Solano County Public Health; and the American Canyon, Fairfield and Vallejo Walgreens to offer flu vaccines to local residents.
More than 300 people received vaccinations through this partnership and nearly 400 accepted diabetes education resources.
The team started its first distance-learning DPP Lifestyle Change Program in September 2020 in partnership with the Vallejo Regional Education Center in South Vallejo, with the second distance learning DPP happening in January of 2021, one of four sessions that happened in 2021.
The MOBEC team started yet another program, Success with Diabetes, this education program includes cultural adaptations and is translated and provided in different languages, sessions in English and Tagalog lunched in April of 2021. Sessions in Spanish and Punjabi are in developing stages.
There have been a total of 22 National DPP Lifestyle Coach Training Sessions conducted since March 2020. TUC students have also played a big role in this rollout process.
It is a lot of work, to be sure, but the DREAM and MOBEC teams are committed to ensuring the residents of Solano County that need these education and screening services have easy, convenient access to them.