Letters to The Editor: August 18-24, 2022

Posted

The Editor:

Wouldn’t you take steps to prevent a life-threatening condition, if supportive programs were easily accessible right in your community?

More than 800,000 Americans suffer from kidney failure. The top cause of kidney failure is diabetes. Without dialysis or a kidney transplant, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is fatal. In 1972, Congress extended Medicare coverage to almost all ESRD patients, regardless of age. Since then, the program has grown from 10,000 beneficiaries to more than 600,000 today, with an annual price tag of more than $50 billion. Preventative measures, obviously, would save a lot of money, in addition to many lives.

People with diabetes have a lot to juggle to manage their health care because diabetes raises the risk of other problems in addition to kidney disease, including heart attacks, strokes, nerve damage and vision loss. That may sound overwhelming, but the good news is steps you take to prevent one of those complications can help prevent them all.

While the program Common Threads Farm is not specific to diabetes prevention, it effectively combats the condition through the promotion of connecting kids to healthy food in the garden, in the kitchen and at the table – it sets kids up for a life of healthy eating. Contact Laura Plaut for information and to learn about volunteer opportunities: laura.plaut@commonthreadsfarm.org.

Most Common Threads programs take place on public school grounds, during the school day in collaboration with teachers and food service staff. 

Washington State University offers a data-proven, results-oriented diabetes prevention program – participants learn simple skills to achieve diabetes prevention goals in a supportive group. To sign up for the classes, contact kate.foster@wsu.edu

As Ben Franklin advised, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  

Micki Jackson

Bellingham

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