Today in at special ceremony American Diabetes Wholesale paid tribute to Joyce Malaskovitz, PhD, RN, CDE, the winner of their 2nd Annual Diabetes Educator of the Year Contest. We also recognized esteemed Diabetes Educator of the Year Contest finalists Suzanne Laws, MS, RD, LD, CDE and Laura Terrio, RN, BS, CDE.

Created to recognize the unsung heroes of the diabetes epidemic, the Diabetes Educator of the Year Contest received an outpouring of support, and more than 60 people, in both the diabetes and non-medical communities, attended the awards ceremony. NBC 6 South Florida News Anchor and Type I diabetic, Joel Connable, hosted the event. Other attendees included diabetes education professionals, local dignitaries and members of our Destination Diabetes advisor team.

In addition, the event featured prominent speakers such as Donna Rice, immediate past President of the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and Charlie Kimball, a 24 year-old race car driver who made international history with a podium finish in the Formula 3 Euro series in his first race – after he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2007.

Christopher Thomas of Diabetic Rockstar and Andy “Mr. Diabetes” Mandell of the Defeat Diabetes Foundation were also in attendance. We want to recognize the team at IPump.org for their support of this important award as well.

About Our Winner

Joyce Malaskovitz. Joyce believes in following dreams and taking risks. After the sudden death of her grandfather who was a diabetic, Joyce embarked upon her lifelong mission to become a nurse and certified diabetes educator, and to provide the best possible care to all people with diabetes.

For the past 18 years, she has worked as the Director of the Diabetes Treatment Center at Desert Springs Hospital, and in partnership with Healthways, has led the hospital to become the first in the nation to achieve the Certificate of Distinction for Advanced Inpatient Diabetes Care awarded by The Joint Commission. She has spent countless hours supporting diabetes colleagues across the nation to prepare for their certification. She also spends time assisting various community organizations and businesses to make a difference in the fight against diabetes. She is their voice, educator, leader, advocate and friend.

The American Diabetes Wholesale team extends a heartfelt thanks to everyone that made this award so special to all involved. Special thanks go to Home Diagnostics and the Boca Raton Resort & Club for making this year’s contest possible.

This year’s award was even better than last year, and we look forward to continuing our efforts to raise awareness about the importance of diabetes education.