Kern Family Health Care | Family Health | Summer 2019

KFHC office address: 5701 Truxtun Ave., No. 201, Bakersfield, CA 93309 FAMILY HEALTH 2 Kern Family Health Care (KFHC) now offers the Diabetes Prevention Program to KFHC members. This program is designed to help members who have prediabetes lower their risk for type 2 diabetes and improve their health. The program includes: ●  ● Classes, handouts and other resources to help you make healthy changes. ●  ● A lifestyle coach to help you learn new skills, set and meet goals, and keep you motivated. ●  ● A support group of people with similar goals and challenges. The program sessions have three parts: ●  ● A review and check-in on weekly progress. This includes a private weigh-in. ●  ● A discussion about the week’s topic. This will give you a chance to learn from the program materials and each other. ●  ● A wrap-up with a to-do list and handouts. These will reinforce what you’ve learned. Is this program for me? This program is designed for members who have prediabetes and are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. To be eligible for the program, members must: ●  ● Be at least 18 years old. ●  ● Be overweight (body mass index greater than or equal to 25 or 23 if Asian). ●  ● Have no prior diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes. ●  ● Have a blood test result in the prediabetes range within the past year. • Hemoglobin A1C: 5.7 to 6.4 percent, or • Fasting plasma glucose: 100 to 125 mg/dL, or • Two-hour plasma glucose (after a 75 gm glucose load): 140 to 199 mg/dL, or ●  ● Have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Diabetes and hearing loss Diabetes and hearing loss are two of America’s most widespread health concerns. A recent study found that hearing loss is twice as common in people with diabetes as it is in those who don’t have the disease. The rate of hearing loss is 30 percent higher than in people with normal blood glucose. SIGNS OF HEARING LOSS: ❱  ❱ Frequently asking others to repeat themselves. ❱  ❱ Trouble following conversations that involve more than two people. ❱  ❱ Thinking that others are mumbling. ❱  ❱ Problems hearing in noisy places such as busy restaurants. ❱  ❱ Trouble hearing the voices of women and small children. ❱  ❱ Turning up the TV or radio volume too loud for others who are nearby. If you suspect that you have hearing loss, talk to your primary care doctor. You may then want to seek help from a hearing specialist, like an audiologist. With a full hearing exam, you’ll learn more about your hearing loss. You will also learn how to treat it. Diabetes Prevention Program AT RISK FOR DIABETES? Take the risk test on the next page.