Why have medical bankruptcies not declined in Mass. after the state's own health reforms? Answers and more in our Daily Briefing.
My fellowship project entitled "Combating Diabetes"was published on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, in The Record, the daily that serves San Joaquin County. The following Saturday, 330 people showed up for the county's first ever Community Diabetes Summit. The full project was cut out of the newspaper, put on a poster board and posted at the front door of the hotel ballroom where the summit was held. Speakers throughout the daylong summit referred to the project numerous times, even quoting directly from it.
Our final full day in Haiti is today. We went to the mountains with two board members of FHADIMAC, and from a high perch, the city of Port-au-Prince below looked like paradise. But as we descended the mountain, winding out of our way and close to the edge to avoid debris, reality came back to us.
There was a 20-year-old man. He was like a skeleton and breathing like a chimney. He looked chronically ill. He was seen two weeks ago and given insulin. However the nuns in the orphanage where he lives didn't give it to him because they feel he has TB not diabetes.
Today I lectured at the medical school. It is on a hill in a UNICEF tent. It was over 100 degrees in the "test classroom" while I was lecturing. The students took handwritten notes and copied down every word I said.
The public hospital in Port-au-Prince is the most under-resourced, filthy, overwhelmed health care facility we have ever seen. We’ve seen patients with Meningitis, diarrhea, infections. When I tried to help three kids with diabetes, there was not even a glucose meter to be found in the hospital. All this makes it near to impossible to help people.
People living with diabetes in San Joaquin County may have cause for concern: The county ranks worst in the state for deaths caused by diabetes. Medical officials say the lack of education and resources are to blame.
Can zinc really help sufferers of the common cold? Answers and more in our Daily Briefing.
Candy bars, Pop-Tarts and french fries were always on the menu in Ruth Sanchez's daily diet.
For years, the 17-year-old consistently made poor eating choices. "Fast food is what I would eat the most," she recalled.
Ruth, a former Merced Scholars Charter School student, said the two main reasons she turned to fast food were because it was affordable and easy to get.
"You are on the run, and you are going to get something from the $1 menu," she explained. "It's quick and it's the cheapest."
Not only did Ruth, who weighs 183 pounds, make the wrong choices when it came to eating, she also didn't live an active life.
That's no longer the case. She has made a dramatic change in her habits.
This is part two in a four-part series.
Part one: Convenience often trumps nutrition
For many Mexican immigrants living in New York, working multiple jobs leaves little time for regular exercise. In addition, a heavy reliance on public transportation and a lack of rural areas means that physical activity is virtually nonexistent. Health experts cite this sedentary lifestyle as an emerging gateway to diabetes, especially among immigrants.
This story was originally published in Spanish. Below is the English translation.
