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Health District offering a free Diabetes Self-Management Workshop

KENNEWICK, Wash. Benton-Franklin Health District health professionals said diabetes effects a significant number of people in Benton and Franklin counties.

Now the health district is offering a free workshop to help reduce this health threat.

"One in every two people has pre-diabetes, one in every two people," Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist Laili Abd Latif stressed.

Latif said a staggering number of people in Benton and Franklin counties are suffering from diabetes or are at high risk, but dont know.

"Because it's almost like a silent disease, you dont really know the disease until you get tested," she said.

Many of the at-risk groups include the Hispanic, Asian, and African-American populations.

If you have pre-diabetes, she said with intervention like changing your diet, adding physical activity, and developing a healthier lifestyle, pre-diabetes can be reversed.

Abd Latif and other health advocates are urging people who are over the age of 40, overweight, have a baby larger than nine pounds, or have a history of diabetes to get screened.

"If you know, you can work towards improving yourself, she said. But if you don't know, you'll be walking around for 10 years with diabetes, and then the complication of diabetes already sets in."

She said by not managing your diabetes, it will drive up medical costs and increase medical complications later in life.

"When you have diabetes, you don't just have diabetes, you also have high blood pressure, you have high tri-glyceride, and high cholesterol," Abd Latif said.

Thats why the Benton-Franklin Health District is offering a free Diabetes Self-Management Workshop.

The Diabetes Self-Management class will be offered on Thursdays from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m., from August 17 to September 21. The workshop will be held at Benton-Franklin Health District, 7102 W Okanogan Place in Kennewick.

The evidence-based program from Stanford School of Medicine empowers people with diabetes to maintain and improve their health.

It is led by people who have diabetes themselves, so they understand what the diabetes community is going through.

"So its really more of a support group," said Liza Gonzalez, community health worker and program coordinator for the workshop.

Gonzalez said the six-week class will teach you ways to deal with fatigue and pain, improve nutrition and exercise choices, communicate better with healthcare providers and family members and develop weekly action plans.

"If we can learn to be healthy and if we can take action in how to be healthy, this is a starting point for you," she said.

Unfortunately, Gonzalez said many times people don't take advantage of these free health education programs.

"We're all busy, she admitted. But where are we going to be if we don't take care of ourselves first?"

Gonzalez and Abd Latif believe that together they can transform the lives of those in living with diabetes in our community.

The educational class is open to all people with diabetes, those with family members with diabetes, or those who care for diabetes. To register for the class or for more information about the free workshops, call Lisa Gonzalez at 509-460-4216.

The Benton Franklin Health District and the Tri-Cities Diabetes Coalition is also hosting a Diabetes Awareness Fair Oct. 7 from 10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. at Pasco High School. Admission is free and there will be door prizes.

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Health District is offering a free Diabetes Self-Management Workshop - KEPR 19

This entry was posted on August 17, 2017 at 3:43 am and is filed under Diabetes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |