ALTON, IL -- Living with diabetes can be challenging at times but the more knowledge about the disease you can gather, the easier it will be to manage — and the healthier you’ll be.
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One great opportunity to learn more is at Alton Memorial Hospital’s 11th annual Diabetes Fair. This educational, fun and free event will be held Saturday, Aug. 20, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the hospital’s Beeby Wing lobby and cafeteria. Guests should enter through the new Duncan Wing lobby and proceed down the corridor to the fair entrance. To register for the fair, call 1-800-392-0936.
“Diabetes is a disease that affects so many of us, whether it’s ourselves or a family member,” says Judy Mayhew, diabetes educator at Alton Memorial. “The Diabetes Fair is a great opportunity for people to learn more about how they can manage diabetes, because in most cases it is a condition that is very manageable with proper diet and exercise.”
The Diabetes Fair will include approximately 25 booths that feature the latest information about diabetes medications, treatments and medical equipment. Guests can also talk with representatives from the American Diabetes Association, and ask questions of diabetes educators and dietitians. They will also enjoy a complimentary boxed lunch, courtesy of Quizno’s, served in the cafeteria beginning at 10:45 a.m.
In conjunction with this year’s fair is a series of health screenings that will take place in Alton Memorial’s Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine, just down the hall from the lobby. The package of screenings is free, but space is limited and guests must schedule an appointment in advance by calling 1-800-392-0936 when they register for the fair itself. Screenings include a blood glucose check, blood pressure, A1C screenings and foot screenings, plus a consultation with Mayhew. Sign-in for the screening package is separate from the main registration table and will be done by the Wound Care Center entrance after entering the fair.
Dr. James Lieber, an Alton optometrist active with the Godfrey Lions Club, will provide free diabetic retinopathy screenings in the lobby. The Lions Club will also provide free hearing screenings in a van located on the circle drive just outside the lobby. No appointments are required for the vision and hearing screenings.
The Diabetes Fair will feature two presentations in the Cafeteria Conference Rooms. At 10 a.m., Dr. Michael Vishion of Break Through Pain Relief Clinics will speak about diabetic peripheral neuropathy. At 11:30 a.m., Dr. Julio Leey, an endocrinologist on staff at AMH, will speak about “Diabetes + Obesity = Diabesity.”
The boxed lunches are available first to those who pre-register for the fair; walk-ins will be served if there are enough meals available. Those who pre-register will receive a lunch ticket when they sign in at registration; walk-ins will receive a lunch ticket of a different color and must wait until most or all of the pre-registered guests have been served.
