OGDENSBURG – Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center’s Diabetes Education Program appears to be producing results in the form of lower blood glucose levels among participants

The program held its annual meeting recently to see how its participants did with their targets and goals, and test results showed improvement in important measures of potentially damaging glucose in the blood.

The program, recognized by the American Diabetes Association, is part of the increased emphasis being placed on preventive care and getting people with diabetes within targets for blood sugar control. Diabetes self-management education can help patients meet their goals. Patients meet with the certified diabetes educator, nurse Karen Cole, individually and in group settings. Classes are held monthly covering different aspects of diabetes management, such as meal planning, goal setting, monitoring, exercise, and medications.

Diabetes education can help achieve individualized goals, a press release from the hospital said.

A person’s A1C blood test is an indicator of how well blood sugar is being managed. It differs from the readings that might be taken several times a day by a patient in that it shows average blood glucose levels over a longer term, about three months.

The established target for an A1C reading is less than 7 percent. In 2014, before the program started, nearly half of the Claxton-Hepburn program participants had A1Cs of less than 8 percent and about one-quarter had A1Cs at the target of less than 7 percent. After diabetes education, 70 percent had A1C’s of less than 8 percent and 41 percent were at lower than 7 percent.

Patients get into the program through physician referral. In 2015 Claxton-Hepburn is offering group classes each month on different topics.

For more information call Cole at 713-5181.