Posted Date: 2/21/2008
With funding from the Dinuba Alta Family Health Clinic and Bayer Pharmaceuticals and in partnership with the Visalia Health Care Center, Family HealthCare Network, Clinica Vida Sana, Promotora’s Network, California Diabetes Project and other local health care providers, Kaweah Delta Health Care District Hospital’s Community Outreach Department is holding its 5th Annual “Aqui Entre Nos” (Here Among Us) Retreat. Thirty adults have been invited to the event, which will take place at St. Anthony’s Retreat in Three Rivers from March 10-12.
Several educational sessions will be conducted that include information on diabetes, preventing complications, leadership, cooking and nutrition, exercise, foot care, intimay and diabetes as well as the importance of diabetes control measures. Steve Goss, a physician assistant from Hanford will provide motivational advice on how to avoid complications of diabetes and will take the time to walk with patients and allow them to ask questions one on one. Finally, culturally relevant activities such as cooking traditional Latino dishes in a healthy manner, Latino crafts, Lotidiabetes (diabetes bingo game), and traditional Latino music will be included.
The entire retreat will be conducted in Spanish which is important considering the rate of diabetes among the Hispanic/Latino Community population continues to increase. With a diabetes prevalence of 10.39%, Tulare County ranks 58 out of 58 counties. California’s prevalence rate is 6.22%.
The main purpose of the retreat is for participants to be able to get away from their day-to-day life responsibilities and take some time to think about themselves and their health. Some of the participants will be trained as peer helpers and will assist in facilitating walking clubs/support groups in their communities during the months following the retreat.
"It is our hope that the networking and health goals set by participants will not end with the last day of the
retreat but that participants will continue to support each other as they work towards controlling their disease and enjoying quality of life through the walking clubs/support groups," states Alma Torres-Nguyen, project coordinator for Kaweah Delta's Community Outreach.
|
|
