November is National Diabetes Month, a time to raise awareness on preventing and managing diabetes. In the U.S., more than 38 million people are living with diabetes, and an additional 97 million American adults have prediabetes and are at risk of developing the disease.
While some diabetes risk factors can’t be changed, such as family history and age, many risk factors (for both developing diabetes, and diabetes complications) can be managed through behavior and lifestyle change.
A good place to start in understanding your risk for diabetes is to know your numbers – blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Northwest Colorado Health offers free screenings for anyone in the community to better understand their heart health and risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The screenings provide clients with information on BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels. Community Health Educators use the results from the screenings to work with individuals on a personalized plan to meet health goals. This may include how to better incorporate movement into everyday life or learning about healthy food choices. “Research has shown that you may be able to prevent or delay diabetes by losing just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight,” said Shania Duzik, RD, CLC, Community Health Educator with Northwest Colorado Health. “We help you integrate one small habit at a time that is sustainable, knowing that small changes over a lifetime add up to improve health and help prevent disease.”
For those who have diabetes, it’s important to work with your primary care provider to manage your health and prevent complications. Northwest Colorado Health’s team-based care approach in their Community Health Centers helps lead to better health outcomes for patients with diabetes. In 2023, Northwest Colorado Health was recognized by the Community Health Provider Alliance with the “Grand Champion Best in Class” award for excelling in showing significant improvement across various performance measures, which includes assisting patients managing diabetes. Without proper management, diabetes can lead to a variety of other serious health complications such as heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, vision loss and more.
“Patients at our clinics receive comprehensive diabetes care where multiple members of our team work together to ensure we address all of their health needs so they can live as healthy as possible with diabetes, and prevent complications,” said Brenna Lynam, RN, BSN, Clinical Services Manager for Northwest Colorado Health. “This includes regular medical provider visits, annual diabetes nurse visits, diabetes education relating to medication management, testing, diet and lifestyle, appointments with a Certified Diabetes Educator, screenings in-house with same day results, retinal photos in clinic and annual foot exams. We’ve heard from patients first-hand who have been able to lose weight and lower their A1C because our staff provided education that made it easier to understand their health and execute on their goals.”
Managing diabetes can be hard but working with your healthcare team and taking steps to lower your risk through lifestyle changes such as nutrition, physical activity and medication management, can improve your overall health and help prevent or delay the onset of complications. In addition, patients at Northwest Colorado Health can also access behavioral health services to help cope with feelings of stress that may accompany diabetes.
To learn more about the resources and care available for those who are living with diabetes, or for those who want to learn more about their risk of developing the disease, call Northwest Colorado Health at 970-824-8233 in Craig or 970-879-1632 in Steamboat Springs or visit northwestcoloradohealth.org.