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More than 11% of Americans are living with diabetes, and many more are at risk of developing the condition.
“Type two diabetes has become an epidemic here in United States, and it’s growing quite rapidly,” said Annette McClenahan, a certified diabetes educator with Lee Health.
According to McClenahan, about 38% of Americans have prediabetes, a condition that can increase a person’s risk for stroke, heart attack and type 2 diabetes.
But a diagnosis is not always inevitable. McClenahan said two lifestyle changes can help reverse prediabetes: losing 5% to 7% of body weight and getting 150 minutes of moderate-paced physical activity each week.
Lee Health Solutions offers a yearlong diabetes prevention program designed to help people make those changes and lower their risk.
“When people are successful and go through this program, they reduce the risk of developing type two diabetes by as much as 58%,” McClenahan said.
For patients already living with type 2 diabetes, Lee Health’s Diabetes Care Journey provides additional support to help them better manage their condition.
“We have added care coordination, which really helps patients navigate through the different appointments, testing, reminders, and really also gives them someone that they can contact 24/7. It’s a very personalized, team-based approach for those patients that have type two diabetes and really want more tools and to be able to better manage their long-term health,” said Dr. Damien Hanekom, a family medicine physician with Lee Health.
The goal is to give patients the education, tools and support they need to prevent type 2 diabetes when possible and improve quality of life for those already managing it.
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Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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