Hill Health Center News Release

 

For immediate release           November 27,  2002

 

Information:  Robert Kilpatrick

503-3276 (w)

245-4533 (h)

rkilpatrick@hillhealthcenter.com

 

 Hill Health Center has been selected as one of five health centers in the nation to work intensively on a diabetes prevention prototype over the next year.

 

This Diabetes Prevention Pilot, established by the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC), will focus on weight loss and increasing physical activity among individuals at high risk for developing diabetes.  Weight loss of only 5-7% of current body weight has been shown to prevent and/or delay the onset of Type 2 Diabetes.

 

During the Pilot, organizations will participate in four two-day Learning Sessions and maintain continual contact with each other, and the Pilot faculty members through e-mail, virtual office, and conference calls.

 

A prototype for diabetes prevention identification and intervention will be completed through the work of the pilot health centers, the expert panel, faculty and the BPHC, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and subsequently used by health center teams participating in the BPHC Health Disparities National Collaboratives.

 

Hill's selection was based on its experiences working in earlier diabetes and asthma collaboratives, in which improvements in the management of these chronic diseases were achieved.

 

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide. In the U.S., over 8% of the adult population are affected, with disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities and the elderly.

 

 Individuals at risk for the development of diabetes can be identified by historical data (e.g. history of gestational diabetes and family history of diabetes), by physical characteristics (e.g. obesity and hypertension), and by laboratory determinations (e.g. impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance)

 

 Some risk factors - elevated fasting and post-load plasma glucose concentrations, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle - are potentially reversible.

 

Feel free to contact your Hill Health Center Provider to assess your risks.