NMC-Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Services, in partnership with the CNMI Green, Growth Initiative, launched “Walk and Roll on Wednesday” or WOW on Nov. 20 at the 13 Fishermen Pavilion.
WOW is a community-based program aimed at preventing diabetes and hypertension, according to NMC-CREES extension agent Ashley Sikayun.
Every Wednesday, NMC-CREES and its community partners, which include the Division of Public Health, Marianas Health LLC and NMC Nursing Club, will conduct no-cost blood sugar and blood pressure monitoring at the 13 Fishermen Pavilion. There will also be educational material on site to support diabetes and hypertension prevention education.
Community members are encouraged to walk or use their wheelchairs along the Beach Road Pathway as part of WOW.
According to Sikayun, one in three people across the nation have pre-diabetes, with 80% of those with pre-diabetes unaware of their condition.
Locally, Sikayun said one in four adults in the CNMI is diabetic.
At a press conference held to launch the event, George Cruz of Marianas Health said his business, which provides homecare services to clients, sees between 110 to 120 patients a day, and 80% of them are diabetic.
Dr. Esther Muna, Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation chief executive officer, spoke about the financial costs of diabetes.
She said while treatment will vary from person to person, and CHCC’s sliding fee can help community members shoulder the costs, the cost of diabetes treatment is “definitely very high.”
“It’s hard to predict really what the cost of care is. We’re seeing a lot of it increase because of the fact that our population is sick,” she said. “Prevention is basically the key to reducing the costs of healthcare. Without this, especially when you don’t know you have the disease and you find out later, it costs more. Because whether running the [dialysis] machine to try to treat the individual or just hospitalization — that costs a lot more than basically the treatment with metformin and getting access to those medications.”
Cruz said aside from the high medical costs, there is an emotional toll when dealing with diabetes.
“If you get somebody who has uncontrolled diabetes and they need amputations, now you have the family trying to decide…how do I take care of my mom or my dad who got a foot amputation or a below-the-knee amputation or below-the-hip amputation. Because now everyone’s life changes.”
These can be avoided with prevention, he said.
Nursing students participate in WOW.
Community members participate in the Walk and Roll on Wednesday health screenings at the 13 Fishermen Pavilion on Nov. 20, 2024
An NMC Nursing Club student takes this reporter’s blood sugar reading.
