Edward-Elmhurst Health offering free diabetes screenings in Addison

Edward-Elmhurst Health’s “Jumpstart Your Health” diabetes prevention program has announced screening dates and times in April at Addison Park District locations.

The free screenings for community members will determine if they qualify for Jumpstart Your Health, which is designed to help participants make lasting changes to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes. Each screening involves a finger stick, hemoglobin A1C blood test and diabetes risk factor questionnaire.

Risk factors for prediabetes include being age 45 or older, overweight, family history of type 2 diabetes, physically active less than three times a week, or if a woman had diabetes while pregnant or gave birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds.

Diabetes screenings at the Addison Park District Club Fitness, 1776 W. Centennial Place, will be held:

· Tuesday, April 26, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.

· Saturday, April 30, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Diabetes screenings at the Addison Park District Community Center, 120 E. Oak St., will be held:

· Thursday, April 28, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Sign-up is required. For more information and to sign up, call (331) 221-0429. If you’ve already been told by your physician that you have prediabetes, call to register for the program at (331) 221-0429.

Jumpstart Your Health is a year-long program that incorporates lifestyle changes to help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. The program stresses weight loss and moderate physical activity, which has proven successful in preventing or delaying diabetes in people who have or are at risk for prediabetes. Jumpstart Your Health includes:

--16 weekly group sessions followed by six monthly sessions to help maintain healthy lifestyle changes

--A trained lifestyle coach to guide and offer encouragement

--The skills needed to lose weight, be more physically active and manage stress

--Support from other participants with the same goals

There is no cost to Jumpstart Your Health participants due to support from the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Foundation and grant funding from the Lions Club International Foundation, Lions District 1-J and Elmhurst Lions Club. The program is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Diabetes Prevention effort.

For more information about Jumpstart Your Health, visit www.eehealth.org/services/diabetes/jumpstart-your-health-program.