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Photo: Louisville Department of Public Health and Wellness
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness will sponsor a free 16-week class series, PreventT2, to help people prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
Classes begin on Friday, January 19 at 11:30 a.m. and will be held for one hour each Friday at the South Louisville Community Center at 2911 Taylor Boulevard from January 19 until May 4. For more information or to enroll, call (502) 574-6663 or email andrea.doughty@louisvilleky.gov.
PreventT2 is designed to help people with prediabetes make relatively small lifestyle changes that can prevent or delay the onset of full-blown Type 2 diabetes and its devastating health consequences such as heart disease, kidney failure, stroke and blindness. It is estimated that one out three people in the United States has prediabetes and ninety percent of them don’t know they have it.
Those most at risk for prediabetes include those who:
- are age 45 or older
- are overweight
- have a family history of Type 2 diabetes
- get little physical activity
- have had gestational diabetes
- have given birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds.
If you fall into even one of these categories, you should seriously consider taking this course.
PreventT2 participants will work with trained lifestyle coaches on activities proven to help lose weight, eat more nutritiously and become more physically active. PreventT2 groups meet for a year, weekly for the first 6 months and then once or twice a month for the next six months to maintain healthy lifestyle changes.
PreventT2 is part of the CDC’s (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) National Diabetes Prevention Program. Public Health and Wellness has partnered with the Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development Agency (KIPDA) to offer the course in Louisville.
Photo: Louisville Free Public Library
The Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness and the Louisville Free Public Library will offer the class, Heroin Hurts Louisville on Tuesday, Sept., 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the South Central Regional Library at 7300 Jefferson Blvd. and again on Tuesday, Oct., 24 at 6:00 p.m. at the St. Matthews Library at 3940 Grandview Ave. The 90-minute class is free. Registration is required. Phone 574 -1623 or contact the Library @LFPL on Twitter or @LouisvilleFreePublicLibrary on Facebook to register.
Heroin Hurts Louisville is taught by a certified drug and alcohol counselor. It includes educational information, video testimonies from young people and facilitated discussion. Participants will receive a toolkit with information and available resources. The class is intended to provide parents and other caring adults with valuable insights on why children and teens use drugs and how to start a dialogue about the dangers of substance abuse. It is also intended to empower parents with steps to take if they suspect or know someone at risk of using drugs.
“This class is a tool for parents to open up a dialogue with their children around the issues associated with drug use,” said Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Department of Public Health and Wellness. “Many of our initiatives to battle the opioid epidemic in Louisville have, by necessity, been reacting to the needs of people caught up in drug use and protecting our community from infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C,” she said. “But it’s also important that we take proactive steps to prevent substance abuse in the first place.”
“We are happy to be teaming up with Public Health and Wellness to be bringing these classes to our community,” said James Blanton, Director of Louisville Free Public Library.
