PORT ANGELES — Screening for diabetes risk will be offered at the Port Angeles Farmers Market on Saturday.
Peninsula College nursing students and volunteers and staff from the Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics, or VIMO, free clinic will provide the screening free of charge.
The farmers market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday at The Gateway pavilion at the corner of Lincoln and Front streets.
Diabetes screening will consist of a questionnaire developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Atlanta.
Peninsula College nursing students will help market visitors complete the questionnaire.
Janet Oja, registered nurse and the lead VIMO diabetes nurse educator, will be available to answer questions and discuss prevention and control of diabetes.
Those found to be at high risk for diabetes will be referred to their health care providers or VIMO.
Growing Healthy
They also will have the opportunity to enroll in Growing Healthy, a project designed to help low-income people with diabetes or who are at risk for the disease to eat better, get more exercise and feel better through gardening.
VIMO received an American Medical Association Foundation grant to pilot the Growing Healthy project and is collaborating with First Step Family Support Center, Washington State University Clallam County Extension and Master Gardeners, and Port Angeles Victory Gardens on the project.
Untreated diabetes can cause heart disease, stroke, blindness and kidney problems. It can lead to foot and leg amputations and even death.
Diabetes cannot be cured, but it can be controlled.
Actions also can be taken to prevent diabetes.
Event organizers hope the screening will boost the number of people who are aware they are at high risk for diabetes or that they have diabetes and who talk to their health care provider to find out what they can do about it.
