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Preventing Type-2 Diabetes Is The Goal Of A New Program At Sacred Heart Hospital

cdc.gov

Sacred Heart Hospital is launching “Prevent T-2,” a new diabetes program aimed at helping pre-diabetic people avoid development of the disease.

“T-2” refers to type-2 diabetes.

“A ‘pre-diabetic’ is a person who falls into a blood sugar range that’s not quite diabetes yet,” says Ethel Hoyt, a registered nurse and patient educator at Sacred Heart. She is the program’s facilitator.

Prevent T2, she says, is a proven, nationally recognized lifestyle-change program that’s part of the National Diabetes Prevention Program led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We know that [with] diabetes-2 that lifestyle influences blood sugar levels,” Hoyt says. “People who are at risk for diabetes, start showing signs long before the full-blown diabetes.”

“The facts are clear – 29 million Americans have diabetes; 86 million Americans have pre-diabetes, but only ten percent of them know they have it,” says Dr. Ann Albright, director of the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, in a video for physicians.

That 86 million roughly translates to more than one in three Americans with pre-diabetes. If not checked, the condition can lead to higher risks in long-term health, such as full-blown diabetes, heart disease, blindness, and stroke.

Beginning August 29, Prevent T2, a year-long program, will meet once a week for 16 consecutive weeks. During the final six months of the program, the group will meet on a monthly basis.

Credit Dave Dunwoody, WUWF Public Media
Ethel Hoyt, RN and Facilitator for the "Prevent T2" program at Sacred Heart Hospital

Sacred Heart’s Ethel Hoyt says on day one of the class, participants will be asked to assess themselves first.

“We’ll ask them to keep a log of how much activity they get, or what they eat, the times that they eat, [and] what influences those habits,” said Hoyt. “And then we’re going to come back and look at it. Everybody’s an individual; they come up with the solution, what will work for them.”

After the year in the Prevent T2 class, facilitator Ethel Hoyt hopes they can use the education to develop their own maintenance plans.

“What I hope they can attain is keeping their A-1Cs in a healthy level; from developing full-blown diabetes,” said Hoyt. “And that they will be able to recognize those habits where they’re gaining weight and less active.”

The course is not for those with Type-1 diabetes. Type-1 is an auto-immune disorder, while Type-2 diabetes is driven by lifestyle.

More information is available by calling 850-416-2598, emailing ethel.hoyt@ascension.org.