dr. athena philis tsimikas is an endocrinologist who oversees the program. >> this is a disease in which have to do a number of management components. not only every day, but many times a day. it's not easy to expect someone to remember to test their blood sugar, take their pill, go out and take that walk, have exactly the right meal on the table all the time to take care of this. >> i don't see any lows so i don't think we need to worry that you might dip too low. >> reporter: to help patients, a team is set up at each clinic with a physician, nurse practitioner, a dietician and multiple peer counselors-- like ayala-- who come from the communities they serve and also have the disease. >> if you can train these other people and professionals to help you do these other components that take longer but are absolutely necessary, then you're using your team to work very synergistically to deliver everything that a patient needs in order to improve their care. >> reporter: the program is now adding another layer: technology. last year tsimikas conducted a study to see if patients receiving dai