These numbers are frightening to the 24 million Americans who have this disease. Wayne Memorial Hospital’s diabetes classes are geared to help diabetics avoid serious medical complications. Carol Kneier, a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator, helps people not only live with diabetes but live well with the illness. Her next class starts Saturday morning, February 20, 2010. It runs for four consecutive Saturdays at the Hospital, from 10:30am to Noon.
“Diabetes doesn’t have to control you. You control it,” Kneier tells her students. Her course, called “Living Well With Diabetes,” covers a basic understanding of diabetes and medications used to control it; the benefits of exercise; the role of food in diabetes care; menu planning and label reading; and preventing problems, glucose monitoring and good care from head to toe. Long-term or newly diagnosed diabetics will benefit from these classes.
Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy for daily life. Both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles in the development of the disease, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
Pre-registration is required for Kneier’s course. For information or to register, contact Carol Kneier at (570) 253-8149. The cost of the four-session program is $50 per person. Financial assistance is available for those who qualify. Each person registered may bring one support person.
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Photo caption: If you have diabetes, find out how to feel and be your best by managing your condition from Carol Kneier, Wayne Memorial Hospital’s Certified Diabetes Educator. Her next series of classes “Living Well with Diabetes” starts on Saturday, February 20, 2010. Call 253-8149 to register. Pictured is Kneier instructing Elaine Remick how to properly check her glucose level.