Flagler event shares ways to prevent, manage diabetes

The Palm Coast Community Center was awash in blue Thursday as part of World Diabetes Day events taking place around the world.

Sponsored by AdventHealth Palm Coast and the city of Palm Coast, the event was designed to raise awareness about diabetes and inform residents about local programs to prevent and manage Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

As part of the event, a blue diabetes awareness flag was raised by local officials and members of the Diabetes Alliance, a group formed last year to raise awareness about the disease.

“Diabetes as a disease is so widespread and there are so many other diseases that stem from it, so we are here to raise awareness and advocate for healthier lifestyles,: said John Subers, executive director of the AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation. ”The Diabetes Alliance success has been in the partners it has engaged, the Health Department, the Free Clinic, Flagler Schools and today’s event with the city of Palm Coast.“

The Palm Coast event featured blood sugar and retinopathy screenings as well as information booths, educational lectures and an exercise class.

Resident Daniel Boone stopped in and had his blood sugar level tested, mostly at the request of his wife, Rose, he said.

“I’m getting better at it,” he said.

According to Laura Gilvary, one of the founders of the Diabetes Alliance with her husband, John, a Type 1 diabetic, 14% of the population of Flager County is affected by diabetes, “which is a pretty significant number.”

Even more significant is the fact that many of those who have diabetes are unaware they are affected.

“One in three people are diabetic and don’t know,” said John Gilvary. “It’s all about information.”

World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Foundation and the World Health Organization to highlight growing concerns about the health threat posed by diabetes, according to a Florida Department of Health in Flagler media release.

It is recognized every Nov. 14, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting who discovered insulin with Charles Best in 1922.

The Flagler County office of the Florida Department of Health began offering a diabetes program in 2018 and the World Diabetes Day event was an opportunity to showcase the program, said spokeswoman Gretchen Smith,

“Our program is less than a year old and we’re working on getting accreditation,” she said. “Diabetes and cardiovascular health is one of the state’s health initiatives and one of the priorities and that’s why it is important for us to get out and raise awareness and try to spread the word as much as we can that there is a free diabetes program in Flagler County.”

For more information about the diabetes program at the Florida Department of Health in Flagler, call 386-437-7350 or visit flagler.floridahealth.gov.