Whittier Street Health Center, a community health center with a mission to serve as a center of excellence that provides high quality and accessible health care and social services that achieve health equity, social justice, and the economic well-being of a diverse patient population, recognizes November as National Diabetes Month, a time annually devoted to bringing attention to diabetes. This year’s focus is on managing diabetes by building a health care team.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK; part of the National Institutes of Health), diabetes affects about 37 million Americans, and occurs when a person’s blood glucose, or blood sugar, is too high. Diabetes can damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart, and is linked to some types of cancer.
Working with a health care team can help people with diabetes improve their overall health. Whittier Street Health Center health care professionals provide diabetes care services and work with individuals to help them set goals to help manage their diabetes as early as possible, prepare for their health care visits (including blood pressure check, foot check, and weight check), identify small changes to create healthy habits, and make physical activity and healthy eating part of their daily routine.
“In addition to the challenges presented by diabetes itself, the disease features a host of other medical complications that become more serious without proper management,” said Stephen Wright, M.D., medical director at Whittier Street Health Center. “Diabetes Awareness Month is critical to ensuring people understand how they can live healthier lives by appropriately managing their diabetes.”
“We are proud to help provide health care resources to those with diabetes,” added Frederica M. Williams, president and CEO of Whittier Street Health Center. “We understand the need for education and a team approach, and we are grateful for the opportunity National Diabetes Month provides to allow us to reach more individuals.”
About Whittier Street Health Center
Whittier Street Health Center is an independently licensed community health care center with a mission of providing high quality, reliable and accessible primary healthcare for diverse populations while promoting wellness and eliminating health and social disparities. A champion of equitable access to high quality, patient-focused care, social justice and economic equity, Whittier Street Health Center is accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC), certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home, and recognized by the NCQA for its Behavioral Health Integration. Through its locations in Roxbury and North Dorchester, and its Mobile Health Van program, Whittier Street Health Center serves more than 30,000 patients and 20,000 community outreach visits annually; its ethnically and racially diverse patient base is primarily made up of individuals from Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, the South End and greater Boston. Approximately 28% of Whittier’s patients are uninsured. Whittier Street Health Center provides a comprehensive array of 40 healthcare programs and services designed to meet the primary health care, behavioral health, and social needs of the community. For more information, please visit www.wshc.org as well as Facebook (www.facebook.com/WhittierStreetHealthCenter), Twitter (@Whittier_Boston), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/whittier-street-health-center), or call 617-989-3221.
