CONTACT: MDI Hospital Community Health Educator Kathy Mulligan at 801-5034 or kathy.mulligan@mdihospital.org
BAR HARBOR—The Mount Desert Island Hospital Wellness team is offering a Diabetes Prevention Class that will begin on Monday, September 14, from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. at the MDI YMCA in Bar Harbor. The class is free and will require a 12-month commitment. The classes will meet weekly each Monday for 16 weeks and then monthly for the remainder of the year.
The class is designed to provide information on how to prevent diabetes by cutting fat grams and exercising for 150 minutes per week. By following the program, participants can lose 7-10 percent of their body weight and lower their chances of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58 percent.
The community based Diabetes Prevention Program helps participants make small successive changes in diet, physical activity and stress management. Meetings, hosted by a trained facilitator, offer a support system for participants to share their successes and manage their setbacks. “We’ve seen amazing changes, not just in weight loss but in attitudes,” said Donna Wiegle, a Swan’s Island resident and the inaugural Diabetes Prevention group’s community coach.
The program is funded by a $450,000 grant from the Health Resources Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. MDI Hospital was awarded the grant in order to lead in the development and implementation of a patient-based program to identify those who may be at risk for diabetes and provide evidence-based methods on finding ways to improve their health. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in three adults in the U.S. is at risk for developing diabetes, and many who are pre-diabetic may not be aware of that risk.
For more information, or to sign up, contact MDI Hospital Community Health Educator Kathy Mulligan at 801-5034 orkathy.mulligan@mdihospital.org
