From the Source: Nina at Erie Family Health Center--Humboldt Park

     Once a month, Erie Family Health Center--Humboldt Park offers a class called Diabetes Mes por Mes. Diabetes Mes por Mes is a great way to give people with diabetes the opportunity to learn more about their disease and management strategies, gain support, and share common frustrations. All classes are held in Spanish. So far, we have covered the following topics: nutrition, mental health, staying healthy during the holidays, and traveling safely with diabetes. We make sure to give patients simple ways to achieve better health. For example, we taught an entire class devoted to healthy cooking tips. We showed patients how to cook a variety of vegetables and demonstrated portion sizes. In addition, we discussed healthy flavoring alternatives to salt and outlined healthy recipes. To demonstrate that cooking healthy can be easy and tasty, we cooked a vegetable soup for each patient to sample. Each patient went home with a healthy recipe packet.

      Since October 2011, Diabetes Mes por Mes attendance has doubled. There are 80 participants who have attended one or more classes. Each month more and more patients are referred into the program. We hope to continue to expand the group and find creative ways to help patients understand diabetes and practice healthy disease-management strategies.