Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high blood glucose levels that result from defects in the body’s ability to produce and/or use insulin.
Nearly 10 percent of the nation’s population has diabetes, millions of new cases are diagnosed annually in people aged 20 years and older, and it contributes to hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. In 2007, diabetes contributed to more than 231,000 deaths. The disease can also lead to several serious health complications, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, neuropathy and amputation.
Education is critical to the treatment and management of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The Diabetic Services program at Sky Lakes Medical Center offers consultation, instructional services and personalized therapies to diabetic sufferers, instilling them with both the knowledge and best self-management practices to treat the disease.
The Diabetic Services program at Sky Lakes Medical Center has been an American Diabetes Association Recognized Diabetes Education program since 1997, and meets the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs.