(Big Sandy, Mont.) – Diabetes affects people of all ages, but it occurs more often in older adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one in every four Americans over the age of 65 has diabetes. Diabetes remains the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.
Managing diabetes can be difficult, but support from community resources, health care providers and friends and family can make it much easier. The first step to better managing diabetes and high blood sugar is to learn about it.
Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for Montana, the Montana State University Chouteau County Extension office and the Montana Geriatric Education Center are partnering together to offer a series of six, free diabetes classes. These classes provide informative and interactive ways to help people with diabetes or pre-diabetes (high blood sugar)
• understand diabetes and how it affects the entire body;
• manage diabetes in a way that makes sense for them and their individual health goals;
• become more informed members of their health care teams, as they continue to work with their doctors, diabetes educators and other health care providers to improve their health.
The series kicks off Thursday, March 8, at Big Sandy Medical Center at 166 Montana Ave. E., from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Classes then meet every Thursday through April 12. Anyone interested can register by calling Janell Barber at (406) 622-3751. Class size is limited, so people are encouraged to register soon.
Those who have attended the classes across Montana are enjoying their experience and learning a lot about their health. “Everything I wondered about was answered,” said one participant after finishing the six classes. “I learned so much.” Another Montana participant said, “They listen to me, explain things clearly. I learned way more than I thought I would.” The classes support, not replace, professional diabetes self-management education. While the classes are designed for people with Medicare, anyone with diabetes or pre-diabetes is welcome to attend.
About Mountain-Pacific Quality Health—Mountain-Pacific holds federal and state contracts that oversee the quality of care for Medicaid and Medicare members. Mountain-Pacific works within local communities in Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Territories to help improve the delivery of health care and the systems that provide it with the goal to increase access to high quality health care that is affordable, safe and of value to patients.
