News

ARLINGTON, Texas — In the last 10 years, the number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes has almost doubled, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Closer to home, the 2007 Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Community Health Checkup indicates that diabetes is one of the top three health issues faced by Tarrant County residents and that more education for this chronic disease is called for.

To meet this need in the Arlington community, Arlington Memorial Hospital recently opened the Center for Diabetes Self-Management Education. The center provides in-depth, individualized education to persons with diabetes and pre-diabetes.

“In 2007, our hospital saw more than 4,500 patients with diabetes,” said Bette Akpan, R.N., M.S., coordinator of the hospital’s diabetes center. “There is such a huge need for this in our community that our intake appointments are already booked well into January.”

The Arlington Memorial Hospital Center for Diabetes Self-Management Education follows the standards of care established by the American Diabetes Association. After being referred to the program by his or her physician, each new patient receives an extensive assessment of their educational needs.

Depending on individual needs, patients then attend group and/or individualized educational sessions held over a period of weeks. The sessions are led by nurses and registered dieticians, and include information on:

• Nutrition and physical activity
• Disease process and treatment options
• Glucose monitoring
• Medication use
• Preventing, identifying and treating complications
• Promoting healthy changes

“We’re working with our patients to develop individualized education plans for them so we can provide them with the education and support they need to control their diabetes,” Akpan said. “Patients with Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes, as well as pre-diabetes, may all participate in our program.”

For more information on the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program at Arlington Memorial Hospital, please call 817-960-6025.

About Arlington Memorial Hospital
Arlington Memorial Hospital, soon to be Texas Health Arlington Memorial, is a 417-bed acute-care, full-service medical center serving Arlington and the surrounding communities since 1958. Services include comprehensive cardiac care, an electrophysiology lab, women’s services, orthopedics, GI, an advanced imaging center, extensive rehabilitation services, emergency services, health maintenance and disease prevention classes, support groups, and community service programs.

About Texas Health Resources
Texas Health Resources is one of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health care delivery systems in the United States and the largest in North Texas in terms of patients served. THR’s system of 13 hospitals includes Harris Methodist Hospitals, Arlington Memorial Hospital and Presbyterian Healthcare System, and a medical research organization. THR is a corporate member or partner in six additional hospitals and surgery centers. For more information about Texas Health Resources, visit www.texashealth.org.