Diabetes Alert Day Panel Discussion Invite
MCALLEN, Texas – Diabetes Alert Day is March 28 and to mark the occasion, South Texas Health System and Prominence Health Plan are co-hosting a symposium titled “Addressing Diabetes as a Community.”
Observed annually on the fourth Tuesday in March by the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Alert Day is a one-day “wake-up call” that focuses on the seriousness of diabetes and the importance of understanding the risk.
The STHS/PHP symposium will feature local healthcare experts and leaders. They will discuss what the community needs to do to prevent, treat and beat diabetes in the Rio Grande Valley.
Panelists include Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Commissioner Ellie Torres; Dr. Chris Casso, a Family Medicine Physician with STHS Clinics; El Milagro Clinic Executive Director Marisol Resendez; Jacqueline Harden, Regional School Based Nurse, Region One; and Dr. Andie Gonzalez, a registered dietitian nutritionist with Complete Nutrition Solutions.
Co-sponsors of the symposium include South Texas College and Unidos Contra La Diabetes.
“The Rio Grande Valley, like many other communities throughout the country, is facing a diabetes epidemic. Studies suggest that nearly 27% of the population has the chronic health condition, nearly three times higher than the national average. Many don’t even know they have the disease,” an STHA news advisory stated.
Facts about Diabetes
The following statistics come from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases:
- 37.3 million Americans—or about 11.3% of the U.S. population—have diabetes.
- About 1 in 5 Americans living with diabetes, or 8.5 million people, are unaware that they have the disease.
- Approximately 96 million people ages 18 or older have pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
- More than 8 in 10 adults living with pre-diabetes don’t know they have it.
- About half of women with gestational diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that women develop when they are pregnant.
Addressing Diabetes as a Community event
Here are details on the STHS/Prominence Health Plan panel discussion:
Tuesday, March 28
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Panel discussion starts at 10:30 a.m.
Nursing & Allied Health Campus (Bldg. B)
South Texas College
1901 S. McColl Rd. McAllen, TX 78503
Editor’s Note: For more information or to register, contact Kassandra Rodriguez at (956) 388-2033 or [email protected].
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