Ascension-St. Mary's Hospital in Rhinelander is authorized by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to offer a "Prevent Type 2" diabetes program to the Northwoods.
An information session on the new program is set for 5 p.m. tonight at the hospital.
Carley Reynolds is a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator...
"..It's a diabetes prevention program for folks who have been told in the past you're blood sugars are a little bit high, not to the range of being diagnosed with diabetes but we'd like you to make some lifestyle interventions so we can prevent this from turning into a diagnosis of diabetes..."
In Wisconsin, the state estimates eight percent of Wisconsin adults have diabetes and 28 percent have it but don't know it. Another 37 percent have a condition known as pre-diabetes. 28 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes. If left without care, a number of negative health consequences could result.
Type 1 diabetes requires injections of insulin as the pancreas doesn't produce insulin to digest food, mainly carbohydrates. Type 2 means your cells don't metabolize the glucose in your system as they should. Pre-diabetes means your headed in the direction of a problem.
Reynolds says some people are more inclined to fall into diabetes...
"What we're looking to do is get anyone with a history of diabetes or at a higher risk, maybe they have a sedentary lifestyle, or they have other risk factors such as being overweight, or having blood sugars going up over the past few years. Women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk as well. If we can start implenting things like prevention programs like this we feel we can help decrease the rate that people are becoming diabetic..."
More information on tonight's free information session is available by calling Ascension-St. Mary's Hospital.
