St. Anthony's Center For Diabetes Education offers group classes

WARWICK — The Fall Group Education Curriculum hosted by St. Anthony Community Hospital’s Center for Diabetes Education is rapidly drawing to a close, but new classes are scheduled to get underway shortly. Course titles include, Introduction to Self-Management of Diabetes; Prevention of Diabetes Complications; Meal Planning and Carbohydrate Counting; and a refresher class titled Update and Review of Self-Management and Meal Planning. The Diabetes Support Group also meets in the same room on the fourth Wednesday of each month at noon. Classes are held in the third-floor conference room at the hospital. Anyone interested in learning more about the outpatient education program should contact the Center for Diabetes Education. The Diabetes Outpatient Education Program call-in number for physicians and patients is 845-987-5168. Earlier this year, an analysis of all patients admitted to St. Anthony Community Hospital during the first quarter of Fiscal Year revealed that 28 percent of all discharged patients had a diagnosis of “diabetes” added during their hospitalization. Another study also estimated that one out of every 12 residents of southern Orange County would be diagnosed with diabetes through routine screening. Every year, Diabetes kills 180,000 Americans. The disease dramatically increases the risk of heart attack and is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations. In its determination to serve all the health care needs of this community, St. Anthony Community Hospital opened a Center for Diabetes Education. This year, the Center for Diabetes Education at St. Anthony Community Hospital hosted a series of classes for all patients who had been recently diagnosed with diabetes or who had demonstrated poorly controlled diets. During group or individual sessions, the clinical instructors offered initial assessment, emotional support and sought to help patients achieve a better understanding of the disease. They showed their patients how to live a normal and productive life with diabetes and how to control the disease through diet and exercise. Before attending the classes, the patient’s physician first issues a prescription for the Education Program services. After an initial consultation with one of the Center’s Clinicians, the patient will then be scheduled for group education and/or individual sessions. Group and individual education sessions are offered by Certified Diabetes Educators throughout the year on a variety of days and times to accommodate individual needs. The St. Anthony Community Hospital Center for Diabetes Education offers a wide variety of programs and services aimed at public awareness of diabetes. The Center offers regularly scheduled community screening programs, special lectures, workshops and classes. “Our Diabetes Outpatient Education Program,” said Leah Cerkvenik, executive vice president/administrator of St. Anthony Community Hospital, “is dedicated to being the center of excellence in outpatient diabetes education and management in this area.” To learn more about other programs and services offered at St. Anthony Community, visit its Web site at www.stanthonycommunityhosp.org.