EmblemHealth Hosts Diabetes Awareness And Prevention Webinar – Western Queens Gazette

Friday, November 25, 2022
By ohtadmin | on November 23, 2022
As families gather to celebrate the holiday season, maintaining healthy habits and man­aging chronic conditions such as diabetes can become challenging. To help address these concerns, EmblemHealth, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health insurers, joined with advocacy groups and local leaders on Nov. 17 to host Managing and Preventing Diabetes – An Educational Public Webinar. Em­blemHealth’s webinar commemorated Dia­betes Awareness Month and empowered New Yorkers to make healthier decisions when nav­igating the holidays.
“Maintaining a healthy diet, proper exer­cise, and routine visits with your doctors dur­ing the holidays can be difficult for some. But for those with diabetes and prediabetes, it is critical,” said Beth Leonard, EmblemHealth’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer. “More aware­ness and education are needed to support peo­ple with diabetes in New York. At EmblemHealth, we believe having open dis­cussions with medical experts, leaders, and ad­vocates is a major part of caring for our communities and saving lives.”
AdvantageCare Physicians (ACPNY) Vice President of Clinical Education Dr. Nicole Thomas-Sealey, who hosted the webinar, de­scribed how important it is for people with di­abetes to get their flu and COVID vaccinations as we are in the season of influenza on top of an active COVID pandemic. According to Dr. Thomas-Sealey, people with diabetes are more vulnerable to infection and have the highest rates of complications from these infections.
Clinical experts from ACPNY and Em­blemHealth Neighborhood Care (EHNC) also answered common questions and concerns about diabetes, including symptoms, risk fac­tors, care management, treatment options, coping techniques, and prevention. In addi­tion, healthy tips diabetics and prediabetics can use during the holiday season were pro­vided and included:
•Plan and find balance—use the 80/20 rule (80 percent healthy eating / 20 percent ‘cheat’ foods) in holiday diets. Stay hydrated, get eight hours of sleep daily, and bring healthy snacks to holiday gatherings.
•Gamify it: Suggest healthy challenges like weight loss competitions with family and friends during get-togethers.
•Stay physical: Get moving in the morning, try chair yoga, and take a walk after meals.
•Regularly monitor your blood sugar lev­els.
The webinar also featured panelist insights from JDRF, the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization, which highlighted screenings, support, current re­search, and efforts to find cures. New York City Council Member and Council Committee on Health Chair Lynn Schulman (Queens Dis­trict 29: Rego Park, Forest Hills, Kew Gar­dens, and Richmond Hill) opened the discussion to address health disparities among specific populations and legislative and New York City resources to help avoid, understand, and manage diabetes.
“Diabetes continues to be a leading cause of death among New Yorkers, leaving a dis­proportionate impact on our Black, Latino, Asian, and low-income communities,” said Councilmember Schulman. “Prevention is key – being empowered to make healthy diet and exercise choices and consulting with health professionals is how our city can stay healthy this festive season and into the future. My of­fice is proud to collaborate with Em­blemHealth to inform the public about the best ways to prevent and manage diabetes. To­gether, we seek to eliminate health disparities by promoting awareness and education.”
Data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has shown that diabetes is most prevalent among Hispanic, Black, and Asian New Yorkers. Their findings also show that diabetes disproportionately af­fects neighborhoods in the city with the high­est levels of poverty. Additionally, more than one in 10 Americans are living with diabetes, with an estimated 1.7 million New Yorkers (11%) having diabetes. The percentage of adults in New York State who have diabetes has increased from 6.3% in 2000 to 11% in 2018, and 4.5 million New Yorkers have pre­diabetes.
“Keeping close tabs on one’s health or health condition is always challenging, but there is an added stress during this season, es­pecially for those at risk of or with diabetes,” said Dr. Thomas-Sealey. “Public health pro­fessionals need to communicate with our pa­tients regularly to provide proper care and equip them with the latest information to en­sure healthier outcomes, not just now but throughout their lives. Conversations like these should not stop here. They should be on­going. Tapping into each other’s experience, knowledge, and expertise can hopefully make diabetes a thing of the past, so let’s continue the public dialogue.”
In living the mission of creating healthier futures for the community, EmblemHealth also held an MPV town hall this summer to provide New Yorkers with education and sup­port around stigmas, vaccinations, and preven­tion (vimeo.com/745158029).
A recording of the Nov. 17 webinar will be made available on YouTube and Em­blemHealth’s other social media channels. Visit www.acpny.com/health/management/di­abetes to learn more about diabetes, risk fac­tors, care management, and treatment.
Look for more EmblemHealth public health and health equity town halls this fall and winter.
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