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If you are one of the millions of people living with diabetes, you know it is a chronic disease that requires a multitude of daily self-management decisions and complex care activities. RiverView Health would like to help make managing your diabetes easier with a free program called Type 2 Diabetes BASICS.

The program is for anyone with Type 2 diabetes. RiverView Dietitian Darcey Larsen, RD LD, and RiverView Health Coach Kelsey Billing, RN, BSN, will lead the program.

RiverView’s Type 2 Diabetes BASICS will be offered in the Classroom on RiverView’s Crookston’s campus, 323 S. Minnesota Street, in a series of four classes from 6-8:30 PM on the following Mondays:

• 30^th
• 14^th
• 11^th
• 9^th

A separate series will be held at the Community Center, 101 S. Mill Street, in Fertile from 9-11:30 AM on the following Fridays:

• 4^th
• 18^th
• 8^th
• 6th

The Type 2 Diabetes BASICS program was developed by Park Nicollet International Diabetes Center to help people with diabetes build confidence and competence in managing their diabetes. The class will include sessions on varied topics, including individual food preferences and eating mindfully, medications, recognizing highs and lows, and preventing complications. The curriculum supports the American Diabetes Association and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommendations and goals for nutrition therapy for adults with diabetes.

The Type 2 BASICS program is designed to help you:

• Eat healthy
• Be active
• Monitor your blood sugar
• Know your medication
• Cope with the unexpected
• Reduce risk for health problems
• Manage stress

According to the American Association of Diabetes Education, the program has been shown to be cost-effective by reducing hospital admissions and readmissions, as well as estimated lifetime health care costs related to a lower risk for complications. Following the program recommendations has also led to individuals lowering hemoglobin A1C by as much as one percent. Besides this important reduction, the program has also been credited with helping provide a positive effect on other clinical, psychosocial, and behavioral aspects of diabetes.

A referral is needed from your primary care provider to participate in the free program. Once that referral has been obtained, register by calling Larsen at 218-281-9589. The registration deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 25th.

Pictured above: Darcey Larsen (left) and Kelsey Billing