Press Release:
For Immediate Release

Contact: Jana Bartleson,
RD Yancey County Health Department,
682-6118 Ext. 29

Diabetes Self Management

Did You Know?

The number of people living with diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. Nearly 24 million children and adults in the United States live with diabetes, including 1,300 people in here in Yancey County. But these numbers only tell part of the story, one in four people living with diabetes are unaware they even have the disease. Modifying our lifestyle and adopting some healthy behaviors can reduce our risks of developing the disease.

What Can I Do To Reduce My Risk of Developing Diabetes?

Being more physically active—for adults that means participating in at least 30 minutes a day of a type of activity that makes you breathe hard; adopting healthier eating habits—that includes eating at least five servings of fruits and veggies everyday; and working towards maintaining a healthy body weight are all things each one of us can do to decrease our risk of developing Diabetes.

If I Am Already Living With Diabetes, Where Can I Go For Help?

People living with diabetes must make daily decisions that affect the management of the disease, a challenging and often frustrating task, but help is available. New Beginnings is a self-management program designed to support people living with diabetes as they make daily choices on how to manage the disease. Working closely with a person’s healthcare provider, New Beginnings offers individual and group classes to people who are newly diagnosed or have been living with diabetes for a while helping them to gain new information and insight into diabetes and its potential complications. Topics discussed include; understanding diabetic medications, blood sugar monitoring, meal planning, carb counting, physical activity and stress management. While the most important component of New Beginnings is providing the support necessary for people to achieve their individual goals, the program monitors two major challenges for people living with diabetes: managing blood sugar levels and understanding the importance of foot care. The total program is ten hours with eight hours group time and two hours individual time with a nurse and dietitian. New Beginnings is open to everyone regardless of whether they have insurance or not.

How Do I Find Out More About New Beginnings?

If you are interested in finding out more about New Beginnings and diabetes self-management call the Yancey County Health Department at 682-6118 Ext.29. The classes are scheduled every other month. So, don’t delay. Take the first step to manage your diabetes—Call Today--682-6118 Ext.29

This article was written by Jana Bartleson and Suzette Renfro with the New Beginnings program at the Yancey County Health Department. This article is part of a monthly series of health related articles from members of the Healthy Yancey Steering Committee.  Healthy Yancey, a certified Healthy Carolinians Partnership, is a group of concerned citizens working together to improve the health and life in Yancey County. Healthy Yancey meetings are open to the public and are held on the first Thursday of the month at noon at Blue Ridge Fitness & Rehab.  For more information, call 682-7899 or visit www. healthyyancey.org