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Saint Barnabas Offering Free Diabetes Alert Day Diabetes Expo and Community Program Livingston, NJ - Saint Barnabas Medical Center Pediatric Specialty Center in conjunction with the Siegler Center for Integrative Medicine is marking Diabetes Alert Day on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 with a Free Diabetes Expo and Community Education Program at the Ambulatory Care Center, 200 South Orange Ave., Livingston, New Jersey. The Expo will be held in the Atrium from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Various diabetes vendors such as pump and meter companies, Camp Nejeda and other organizations will be present for the Expo. Immediately following the expo at 6:00 p.m. there will be two lectures:
At the conclusion of the talks, there will be a joint question and answer period with the entire diabetes team of educators including an advanced practice nurse, registered nurse, registered dietician and social worker. In the United States, 23.6 million children and adults have diabetes. With nearly 6 million Americans having diabetes and not even knowing it, Diabetes Alert Day is an urgent call-to-action for Americans to find out their risk for type 2 diabetes. Another 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes, placing them at increased risk for type 2 diabetes. The primary risk factors for type 2 diabetes are being overweight, sedentary, over age 45 and having a family history of diabetes. African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at an increased risk, as are women who have had babies weighing more than nine pounds at birth. According to the American Diabetes Association, people with type 2 diabetes can live for years without realizing that they have the disease. While people with diabetes can exhibit noticeable symptoms, such as frequent urination, blurred vision and excessive thirst, most people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes do not show these overt warning sings at the time they develop the disease. Often type 2 diabetes becomes evident when people develop one or more of its serious complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye damage, or nerve damage that can lead to amputations. Children usually are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which typically appears suddenly with 1-2 weeks of excessive drinking and urinating along with weight loss. Saint Barnabas Medical Center has a dedicated Pediatric Diabetes Team consisting of physicians and a nurse, nutritionist and social worker to help families learn about and treat their child’s diabetes. With the increasing obesity epidemic among youth, type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes is becoming more prevalent among the pediatric population. Type 2 diabetes screening should be performed in these children either by their pediatricians or via referral to the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology. The Center for Diabetes at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and Ambulatory Care Center has received recognition from the American Diabetes Association. The expo is open to the public and registration is not required. Registration is desired for the evening Community Education Program. For more information about Saint Barnabas physicians specializing in diabetes or to register for the free lectures, please call 1-888-SBHS 123 or 1-888-724-7123. Date: February 27, 2009 Saint Barnabas Contact: Sally Malech, 973-322-5441 [ top ] [ back to news index ] |
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