Free clinic's diabetes program offering healthy advice
Uninsured can get help dealing with debilitating disease
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers NUTRIOUS SELECTIONS- Family diabetes program volunteers from left, Blanca Arias, an Oxnard resident, Miriam Andino, a Simi Valley resident, and Vicki Guerrero, a Thousand Oaks resident, display and prepare healthy food choices for the attendees at the Westminster Free Clinic at the Thousand Oaks United Methodist Church.

When Adriana Hernandez was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes five years ago, she was worried.

The Simi Valley resident wanted to get healthy and keep her family from developing diabetes, but without insurance it was tough, Hernandez said.

Westminster Free Clinic's Nuestra Familia Family Diabetes Management and Education Program is making it a lot easier, and Hernandez said she and her family are getting the help they need.

Every Wednesday night, a group of 50 or so individuals with diabetes, often accompanied by family members, show up at the clinic, which is held at the United Methodist Church in Thousand Oaks.

They attend a health class educating them on the foods they should eat, how much exercise they should get and other precautions to take that will be pivotal to improving their health.

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers MEASURING IN- Volunteer Rudy Espinosa measures Simi resident Adriana Hernandez as part of her checkup.

"I've learned very much," said Hernandez, whose young son Joshua translated. "I've learned ways to stay healthy, to walk, to eat vegetables and fruits. I want to prevent my family from getting diabetes and other health-related diseases."

The Spanishlanguage sessions, which began in September 2007, focus on early treatment and prevention in children.

Volunteers hand out pamphlets and other guides and whip up healthy snacks so the kids can taste how good healthy food can be.

The clinic's executive director, Lisa Safaenelli, said that although people come for a variety of reasons, diabetes is the number one issue they deal with.

"Type 2 diabetes is a growing epidemic in the United States due to the genetics of minority populations, changing diets and decreased exercise," Safaenelli said. "Preventing the next generation from having diabetes and providing early intervention and treatment for those who already have diabetes is crucial."

High school interns and a college student, Rudy Espinosa, work in partnership with the bilingual health educator and dietitian to implement the program.

Espinosa, 20, attends Moorpark College. He and other volunteers monitor the patients' eating and exercise, take glucose levels and make calls to assure that the families show up every Wednesday.

"A big part of it is so they can teach their kids to be healthier," Espinosa said. "But most of the patients are older and their children are grown. For them, it's about living longer and improving their quality of life. The group is very committed."

Safaenelli said that it can cost more than $350 each month for an uninsured person to manage diabetes on their own.

But because of the clinic's volunteer doctors, discounted medications, diabetic test strips and diagnostic lab tests provided by community partners, it costs WFC from $1.80 to $4 per patient per month to provide the services free of charge.

"It saves the whole healthcare system a lot of money when an uninsured, untreated diabetic avoids going to the emergency room with a heart attack or kidney failure," Safaenelli said. "The clinic makes it so they are able to get their blood sugar in control. And we help in preventative ways, too, because we don't want the whole family to end up with it."

The Westminster Free Clinic at the United Methodist Church is at 1000 E. Janss Road in Thousand Oaks.