Last year's participants in the Diabetes in Control Program

HILO, Hawaii: Hilo Medical Center will be offering some upcoming Diabetes Management Classes.

From HMC community relations:

Hilo Medical Center ’s Diabetes in Control Program (DICP) is now registering participants for its 9-week course that focuses on managing diabetes by improving nutrition, exercise, and personal health habits.

“With the epidemic of diabetes in East Hawaii, this program is an enormous benefit to HMC’s Hawaii Island Family Health Center and our community,” says Howard N. Ainsley, CEO of the East Hawaii Region of HHSC. “HMC is grateful for the Hilo Medical Center Foundation’s underwriting of this program through the generous support of the County of Hawaii Shippers ’ Wharf Committee Trust.”

The upcoming classes start on Wednesday, May 23, and participants are asked to commit to attending the entire nine-week session. DICP will be holding two sessions on Wednesdays in the morning from 10:45am – 12:15pm and the evening from 5:30pm – 6:30pm at the hospital located at 1190 Waianuenue Avenue . Pre-registration is required and those enrolled are encouraged to bring a relative, friend, or caregiver with them.

This program, accredited by the American Association of Diabetes Educators, covers: monitoring your health with diabetes, nutrition, exercise, emotional coping with the disease, and more. Licensed, experienced instructors will lead participants through goal setting, coping skills, and behaviors for success.

“With only one percent of Americans with diabetes having access to educational programs to learn how to better manage their disease, Hilo Medical Center ’s program is a true community resource,” said the program’s coordinator, HMC’s Certified Diabetes Educator Becky Stubbs . “This program has empowered participants to live well and without complications by keeping blood sugar in control.”

For more information, contact HMC’s Diabetes in Control Program Coordinator, Becky Stubbs by email at HMCDICP@hhsc.org, or by calling 932-3122.

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As the Big Island ’s leading provider of inpatient and outpatient care, Hilo Medical Center (HMC) provides a full range of services and programs to more than 8,800 patients each year. The hospital, with nearly 1,200 employees and more than 250 physicians representing 33 specialties, is comprised of a 265-bed acute care hospital, Hale Ho’ola Behavior Health Center, a long-term care residential treatment center, and a network of eight outpatient clinics. The hospital’s Level III Trauma Center is the second busiest emergency room in the state and servers more than 40,000 patients annually. The recipient of Mountain Pacific Quality Health’s Quality Achievement Award for the last two years, HMC seeks to continually exceed national benchmarks for quality care and customer service. In 2012, HMC was recognized by the insurer HMSA as Hawaii ’s leading hospital in improving quality and reducing the cost of providing care.

HMC is part of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, a public corporation established in 1996 by the State of Hawaii to fulfill the promise to provide quality, hometown healthcare. For more information, go to: http://www.hmc.hhsc.org.