Eileen Tichy

Eileen Tichy, PA, is a physician assistant who specializes in treating children with type 1 diabetes. She also sees patients with obesity and hyperlipidemia, a condition of having very high levels of fats (lipids) in the blood.

“I was a dietician before becoming a physician assistant and I’ve always been interested in how nutrition can affect wellness,” Tichy says. “Diabetes is a very difficult disorder and we try to help lighten the burden patients may feel.”

A game-changing development for the field of diabetes was the artificial pancreas, Tichy says. The device measures and delivers glucose continuously and automatically, and “it keeps getting better and better, allowing kids to have regular routines and not as many dietary restrictions,” Tichy says.

One of the responses Tichy sees in patients after a diagnosis is a sense of feeling overwhelmed. “They might say, ‘I’m never going to be able to do this,’ and they ask question after question,” Tichy says. “But I always tell them, ‘You will be an expert—and your parents will be experts—in diabetes.” She encourages patients to talk with her and also to nurture a sense of self-trust.

“We have a great team that provides lots of support and ideas for patients,” Tichy says.