In this episode, host Scott Johnson talks with Carrie Matuzsan, a case manager at Blue Circle Health who has lived with type 1 diabetes (T1D) for 22 years. Carrie shares her journey from her diagnosis at age 12 to her current professional role helping others navigate life with diabetes, including financial hurdles, insurance, and social determinants of health like housing and transportation.

The heart of the conversation focuses on why sticking to goals is so challenging, especially with a 24/7 condition like T1D, and on how to use the SMART goals framework to shift from focusing on outcomes to breaking down the process and using a proven system to help achieve goals.

Carrie teaches us how to "smartify" our intentions, find our "North Star" through the “Toddler Approach”, and reevaluate our progress without self-judgment, especially when we get off track.

What You'll Learn

• Common Pitfalls: Many of us focus on the outcome (e.g., "get an A1C below 7") rather than the process, making the leap from where we are to where we want to be feel impossible.
• The Toddler Approach: How asking "Why?" repeatedly helps peel away surface-level answers to find the core values driving your goal.
• The SMART Goals System:
  • Specific: Making goals concrete rather than ambiguous
  • Measurable: Setting clear criteria for success
  • Attainable/Achievable: Ensuring the goal is something you can actually do.
  • Relevant: Making sure the goal is “along the path” to your bigger picture.
  • Time-bound: Setting a specific timeframe for check-ins and reevaluation.
• Contingency Planning: The importance of having a backup plan for when barriers (like bad weather or life events) interfere with your progress.
• Removing Judgment: Why you should treat your own progress with the same kindness you would show a friend, rather than being your own "bully".

Key Quotes

• "The process of it is the part that is not as much fun to think about or even to plan out." – Carrie Matuzsan
• "One of the biggest downfalls is being mean to yourself. Being your own bully is often the downfall for a lot of these goals." – Carrie Matuzsan
• "We are working to replace an entire hormone that our body is not producing, on top of living a full life. We continue to go and adapt. Just that resiliency... always amazes me." – Carrie Matuzsan

Resources & Links

• SMART Goals worksheet
• Previous Blue Circle Health Webinars on SMART Goals
  • Realistic Goal Setting with T1D (part 1)
  • Realistic Goal Setting with T1D (part 2)
  • Realistic Goal Setting with T1D (part 3)
• Community Partner Spotlight: The Time in Range Coalition (a program from diaTribe). They provide guides and toolkits for using Time in Range as a metric in diabetes management.
  • 🌐 Visit: timeinrange.org to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?
People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org

Episode Summary

It can feel like people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are fighting for their lives in a system built to wear them down. The twist is that clinicians often feel the same weight as they fight to provide care.

In this episode, host Scott Johnson talks with two highly-skilled healthcare professionals from University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio: Natalie Bellini, an endocrine nurse practitioner and program director for diabetes technology, and Quiana Howard, a PhD candidate and clinical nurse research specialist.

The conversation delves into the systemic struggles that prevent people with T1D from getting the support they need to live well with diabetes. The guests, including Natalie, who also lives with T1D, discuss the gap between what people need (like insulin access, education on carbs/fat/protein, and psychosocial support) and what they typically receive (a little information and a website).

They highlight the critical role of organizations like Blue Circle Health in providing holistic, wraparound support that addresses social determinants of health—going beyond glucose numbers to help with insurance, mental health, and food/housing security. Quiana also shares her research on social vulnerability and the surprising frequency of T1D misdiagnosis among minority and underserved populations. Ultimately, the discussion emphasizes the need for a community approach, recognizing that no single clinician or system can be the "do-all end-all" for T1D management.

What You'll Learn

• Why the healthcare system struggles to get people with T1D what they need.
• The essential needs at T1D diagnosis: insulin, psychosocial support, understanding insurance coverage, and education on diet and exercise.
• How clinicians like Natalie and Quiana meet people with diabetes where they are—sometimes even outside the clinic—to build trust and break down cultural barriers.
• Why Blue Circle Health is considered a "system breaker" for providing wraparound support beyond glucose numbers.
• The challenge of misdiagnosis, often due to prejudice or assumptions based on race, age, or weight.
• The shocking level of judgment and assumptions people with T1D face from others, and even clinicians.
• Why clinicians must recognize that their system isn't designed to support every need a person with T1D has.

Key Quotes

• "It can feel like we're fighting for our lives in a system built to wear us down. And here's the twist. Your doctors, your clinicians, feel a lot of that same weight as they fight to take care of you." – Scott Johnson
• "I have to talk to you as if we're equals and we're in this together, and I'm not going to leave you here alone... We're not going to talk at you; we're going to talk with you..." – Quiana Howard
• "There's no box. If we never had to think about any cost, what would we give to a person with diabetes? And that's what we get with Blue Circle Health." – Natalie Bellini
• "Blue Circle Health is a health equity model. They break down the systems that often prevent people from achieving the best outcomes when managing their type 1 diabetes." – Quiana Howard

Resources & Links

• Community Partner Spotlight: This episode highlights diatribe, a small nonprofit focused on education and advocacy around T1D, including fighting stigma and raising awareness of Time in Range.
• 🌐 Visit: diatribe.org to learn more and subscribe to their newsletter.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org

Episode Summary

Navigating life with type 1 diabetes (T1D) is challenging, even for those who are highly prepared and well-equipped. In this episode, host Scott Johnson talks with Rob Howe, diabetes advocate, entrepreneur, and founder of the long-standing podcast "Diabetics Doing Things, about his journey as a former high-level college and professional basketball player who has lived with T1D for 20 years.

Rob shares his experience being diagnosed at 16, the courage it took to be upfront about T1D during his college recruiting process, and the mental anguish of balancing elite athletics with blood sugar management. The conversation digs into why living well with T1D requires managing the physical, mental, social, and often-overlooked financial aspects of life. Ultimately, Rob emphasizes that self-advocacy is a vital skill and a muscle you can build.

What You’ll Learn

• Why T1D is still incredibly difficult, even for the "most well-equipped person".
• The four main categories of life T1D impacts: physical, mental, financial, and social.
• How the financial strain and lack of insurance can put people with diabetes into a constant state of "fight or flight".
• Why making a friend with diabetes is considered Rob's "biggest life hack" for T1D management.
• That self-advocacy can show up as small acts, like simply asking for orange juice when your blood sugar is low.
• The importance of separating your self-worth from your diabetes outcomes.

Key Quotes

• "It's overwhelming. It's a crazy amount of things that it takes to live well with diabetes." – Rob Howe
• "Your diabetes management and the outcomes of it aren't a report card on your value as a person." – Rob Howe
• "In my life, my resilience or capacity moves around and changes based on the other things, the normal things in life that we all deal with, too." – Scott K. Johnson

Resources & Links

• 🌐 Learn more or apply to join: bluecirclehealth.org
• 💬 Follow us on social media: @bluecirclehealth on Instagram and Facebook
• 🧾 Community Partner Spotlight: Connected in Motion – Learn more about their T1D communities, camps, and the new Platinum Club for adults aged 55 and above at connectedinmotion.ca