Welcome

My name is Alejandra Cordovez I was born in Bogota, Colombia, but moved to the USA when I was 6 years old. I grew up in Miami, FL, and have been a resident of Boca Raton, FL for the last 6 years. I am happily married and have been blessed with 2 beautiful daughters that challenge me every day to be better and show them that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I obtained my undergraduate degree in Dietetics & Nutrition at Florida International University and completed a year long dietetic internship at the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. Initially, I specialized in clinical nutrition. 

I have always believed that food is our best medicine and that chronic diseases are best prevented rather than treated. When I realized  that I could not help people accomplish this as a hospital dietitian, I acquired training and specialization from the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami Health System and became a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES). It was here where I truly developed a love for helping those with diabetes and their families. Not all types of diabetes can be prevented, but I found that ALL people with diabetes and their loved ones needed to learn as much as they could about diabetes in order to truly self manage.  I gained insight into how new technology in diabetes could alleviate the burden of the disease for those touched by diabetes. 

Since then I held other jobs within diabetes, as a Clinical Diabetes Specialist for Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. specializing in training and educating people with diabetes on the use of their insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring systems. I then worked for CCS Medical as a CDCES providing virtual diabetes education and remote patient monitoring for people all over the United States. 

Although I loved all my jobs because I was able to help people, I felt like they all lacked continuity of care and specialization. I realized that some people who are started on insulin pump therapy do not have a good foundation of diabetes education, and therefore, found transitioning to pump therapy daunting and stressful. I saw patients starting CGM therapy but had no support of follow up after to truly understand the invaluable information obtained from this technology. 

So I created TAKE A BITE DIABETES. My vision is to educate people with diabetes, and their families, on all aspects of diabetes care:

      > Starting at diagnosis, I want people and parents to feel confident that they have been given the essential knowledge to manage their new condition. 

      > For those planning on transitioning to pump therapy, I want them to understand how a pump will deliver insulin differently from multiple daily injections (MDI). I want them to know what this amazing device is doing and how to use advanced features to better manage certain scenarios. 

      > For those exploring or starting to use Continuous Glucose Monitors, I want them to have support to understand and interpret 288 blood glucose readings a day and what to do with it.   

      > For those who have had diabetes for many years but feel like they need a new beginning or more direction or never truly had access to quality education, I want to help them unlearn old diabetes information and introduce new ways of managing. 

I have seen that although diabetes education and support is essential for all those living with this condition, people are still not getting the information they need. It made me question, what is available?, why hasn't diabetes education delivery changed in the last 20-30 years? We are living in a virtual world where education and information is at our fingertips, yet not many comprehensive diabetes programs that can cover:

- Insulin

- Nutrition 

- Blood Glucose Monitoring

- Exercise 

I believe the best way to gain knowledge is by small Bites, in whatever form that is for you. Whether it's actually trying some new foods, taking the steps necessary to work toward eating for better health, getting outdoors and being active, or taking the leap to really Self-Manage your diabetes. 

My goal at Take A Bite Diabetes is to educate and guide you and your family to feel empowered to take on whatever diabetes throws at you. The expert in diabetes should be YOU since you make over 300 decisions about your diabetes self-management every day*. Whether you are coping with a new diabetes diagnosis or have been living with diabetes over 50 years, we will work together to devise a plan to improve your health and outcomes.  

Welcome to Take a Bite Diabetes, I hope you allow me to guide you through this journey Bite by Bite. 

* Howard Wolpert from The Forum:  https://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/