Empowering Communities: Overcoming Barriers to Diabetes Care Through Education

Harry Ma recalls, "My mom had diabetes for a long time, but I was unaware. She kept it hidden from everyone." The secret came to light when she was urgently hospitalized due to dangerously low blood sugar levels. "That's when I found out," Ma says.
 
This experience, which occurred when Ma was in his early 20s, taught him a tough lesson about diabetes. Instead of avoiding the reality, he chose to immerse himself in understanding the condition. Today, Ma is committed to educating others. His mother’s hypoglycemic incident became his driving force, and with support from a scholarship through the Abbott Fund Scholars program at the University of the Pacific, he pursued a master’s degree in nursing, focusing on diabetes management. Now, he plans to work in emergency care in his hometown of Stockton, California.
 
Stories like Ma’s, as well as those of fellow Abbott Fund Scholars like Alex Marapao and Ana Garcia, showcase what it means to foster a caring community. These individuals have gone from feeling powerless to becoming leaders in improving health outcomes in their local areas, where they grew up.
 
With more than 300 other students and alumni from the Pacific program, they are part of a new generation of healthcare and social workers equipped with advanced diabetes knowledge, ready to make a significant impact.
 
The program, which blends both the science and art of nursing, is unique and essential, as highlighted by students like Alex Marapao. Coming from Stockton and having family members affected by diabetes, Marapao has seen the profound impact the condition can have. Her experience as a nutrition educator at the Emergency Food Bank of Stockton, coupled with her education, has made her a more effective healthcare provider.
 
This is a significant achievement on its own, but it also raises the question: what if more nurses had this level of specialized training? The American Diabetes Association’s recent report on the economic costs of diabetes in the U.S. shows the total annual cost of diabetes in 2022 was $412.9 billion. Additionally, the World Health Organization has highlighted a global shortage of nurses in the millions. Marapao emphasizes that equipping nurses and other healthcare workers with diabetes expertise makes the University of the Pacific program not just unique, but crucial.
 
Since 2020, Abbott Fund, through a partnership with Pacific, has helped develop a curriculum focused on diabetes education and strengthened the pipeline of local healthcare workers in Stockton. This collaboration led to the creation of:
 

 
Students in the Abbott Fund Scholars program commit to working in the local healthcare system and community for at least two years after graduation. As Marapao, who also graduated in May, shares, "During my rotations, I've mentioned our blood glucose monitoring project to some nurses, and every one of them agrees that educating the community on this topic is incredibly important."
 

Overcoming Barriers to Care
Ana Garcia's battle against diabetes became deeply personal after losing her father to complications from the disease. However, she’s not fighting this battle alone; her goal is to help others join the fight, with compassion as her primary tool. “I want to ensure everyone has a fair chance,” she says.
 
In 2021, Garcia graduated as part of the first class from Pacific’s Master of Social Work program. She now leads a team in Stockton that supports 160 clients, with more than half living with diabetes. The Abbott Fund Scholars program was transformative for Garcia, especially as her father’s health declined while she was pursuing her degree. Through this experience, she learned the importance of empowering others, helping them feel worthy of the care they receive. As she puts it, change is achievable; people just need the right support and encouragement.
 
Garcia is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in health sciences and hopes to see more people follow a similar educational path. She envisions programs like the Abbott Fund Scholars program expanding nationally, allowing more students to move beyond academic learning and simulations to form real connections with the people they serve.
 
This hands-on experience is something Harry Ma also values. He recalls volunteering at free diabetes screening clinics hosted by the University of the Pacific in partnership with Abbott, where he witnessed the impact of sharing knowledge with patients. “Seeing that moment of understanding in someone’s eyes makes all the late nights and hard work worthwhile. It brings a smile to your face,” he says.
 
What sets Ma and his classmates apart is their opportunity to apply what they've learned in real-world settings. During their rotations at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Ma and two fellow Abbott Fund Scholars, Anita Sentha and Jacimil Varquez, helped launch a program that supports mothers with gestational diabetes.
 
Reflecting on his journey, Ma acknowledges that his life would have taken a different path without the scholarship he received. He remembers a time when he felt uncertain about his future: “I couldn’t see beyond the immediate challenges,” he recalls. “I wasn’t thinking 10 or 20 years ahead; I was just focused on the next week.”
 
He realized that breaking down the mental barrier of self-doubt was key to moving forward, and the Abbott scholarship gave him the opportunity to dream again.
 
Abbott and the Abbott Fund are committed to investing in communities to remove the obstacles that prevent people from leading healthy lives. Through partnerships with trusted organizations, they work to strengthen care coordination, build capacity, and address the social determinants of health, creating meaningful and lasting impact.