Carteret Health Care educates public on diabetes

MOREHEAD CITY - According to Carteret Health Care, diabetes affects nearly 10.3 percent of the county's population.

According to the 2013 Community Health Needs Assessment, that's slightly more than the national average at 10 percent.

So the hospital continues to expand its free diabetes education through classes and screenings in the coming weeks, according to a press release.

A free screening is scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday in Carteret Health Care's main lobby. Fasting is not required.

This month is recognized as American Diabetes Month. Up to a quarter of individuals with diabetes may not even know they have it.

"With more than 30 million people in the U.S. today being effected by diabetes, the often-silent disease costs Americans an estimated $245 billion each year in medical cost. Diabetes is at an all-time high and medical professionals advise that the rates are likely to continue to climb in the years ahead," according to the press release.

Unlike routine illnesses that can be solved with a couple of visits to the doctor and a prescribed course of treatment, diabetes is a lifelong journey that often requires regular monitoring and lifestyle changes.

Carteret Health Care officials say education is a top priority for the hospital when those with diabetes or pre-diabetes are diagnosed.

"What we know from experience is that if people with diabetes get the right educational material, ideally right after their diagnosis, they have fewer chronic complications during their lifetime," said Betsy Lane, certified Diabetes Educator at the Carteret Health Care Learning Center. "We know that educating patients on prevention is also extremely important."

Putting that information into the hands of those diagnosed with diabetes, regardless of how long they have lived with the disease, is what the Diabetes Learning Center aims to do.

With proper treatment and monitoring, patients can avoid many of the chronic complications that frequently accompany diabetes. Hospitalization rates for heart attack are 1.8 times higher among those with diabetes, hearing loss is twice as common, more than 60 percent of non-traumatic lower limb amputations occur in diabetic patients and more than 4 million diabetes patients suffer from retinopathy.

"Many patients aren't even aware that there are a host of other medical conditions that are often caused or exacerbated when diabetes is present," said Ms. Lane. "This makes it so much more important that we educate patients as soon as possible after their diagnosis."

She noted there have been more educational referrals in the county lately.

"We do see a lot of it in the area," said Ms. Lane. "Referrals to the Learning Center have gone up quite a bit."

Referrals come from the hospital, as well as providers in the community. At the Learning Center, patients can expect one-on-one counseling to discuss diet, exercise and both acute and chronic concerns.

The first visit takes about an hour with each individual.

"We go over the disease process, what their particular risk factors are, family history, monitoring, medications, health eating, physical activity and complications of the disease," said Ms. Lane.

In addition, she schedules a time for the patient to meet with a dietitian. Patients are also welcome to participate in support group meetings that are held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month.

The program expands further this month by adding similar services Down East.

Ms. Lane and the Learning Center staff held a free screening this month and will be meeting with patients beginning in January at Carteret Medical Group in Sea Level.

The group educational class will meet from 10 to 11 a.m. the second Tuesday of each month.

Following the group class, individual classes will be offered in Sea Level by appointment.

"We do get a lot of patients from the area and it's definitely more difficult for them to access services just because they're geographically further away," said Ms. Lane. "Our goal, of course, is to make diabetes education as accessible as possible for everyone who can benefit."

The Learning Center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. To learn more about its free programs, call 252-808-6689 or visit www.CarteretHealth.org.