San Benito loves to eat. But it doesn’t like to exercise, a
combination that has lead to high obesity and, consequently,
diabetes rates, says the county Department of Health.
Hollister – San Benito loves to eat. But it doesn’t like to exercise, a combination that has lead to high obesity and, consequently, diabetes rates, says the county Department of Health.
Diabetes is not only costly to sufferers, but the city, county and private businesses who lose money in workers’ compensation claims, sick days and medical costs. Diabetes patients cost Hollister an estimated $19 million a year, according to the county Department of Health.
But a new diabetes collaborative, formed in September of this year, wants to reverse the trend by educating, informing and providing services to area residents.
The collaborative is spearheaded by San Benito County and Hazel Hawkins Hospital and supported by local nonprofits, school districts and health care providers. Together they hope to tackle a problem of enormous proportions: changing people’s unhealthy attitudes towards food and exercise.
“Diabetes has a lot of different elements to it, so instead of organizations taking it on themselves, we wanted to bring a lot of different entities in on the problem,” said Leah Dowty, foundation director at Hazel Hawkins.
Some 3,000 San Benito County residents have diabetes, a disease largely connected to being overweight, although it can also be genetic. An increasing number of kids are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which unlike Type 1, can be managed by exercise and diet.
But because the county is so small, it is regularly passed over when it comes to funding from the state to fight the problem, says the department of health. That’s why the collaborative is aiming for both private and state grants and wants to work with local politicians to implement change on numerous levels.
One of them is schools, where kids still drink too much soda, eat too many chips and ingest so much sugar they can’t settle down in class, said Muree Reafs, director of nursing at San Benito County Health and Human Services Agency. Another idea is developing “best practice models” to guide people with diabetes and those at risk for the disease into fitness programs, functioning diets and regular medical attention.
“We are looking at everything – from counting four celery sticks instead of four pies in math class to figuring out if Jenny Craig or the gym works best for someone,” said Reafs.
Reafs and Dowty have developed a joint application to the California Endowment and The Health Trust which they hope will fund a 12-month planning period that will allow them to get started on the super-sized task ahead. Already, the group has surveyed 250 people, collecting data about their lifestyle and diets and has began holding community meetings
In the past, a weight problem was considered personal, said Reafs. But because so many youths are severely overweight, letting people deal with it alone isn’t an option anymore.
“The costs to the community for this illness are such that public health should take a role in creating a solution,” said Reafs.
The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8 at 2:15 pm at 1011 Line St.
