STANTON: July 26, Tara Clark came to Livingstone CDC to provide free education about handling diabetes. Having a background of health maintenance for six years, Clark is an expert in her field. She has been giving diabetes seminars for two years now, representing SANOFI, which is a company that gives free health education all over Orange County. And after meeting Dr. Park, Clark was inspired to come to Livingstone CDC and spread awareness of diabetes maintenance.
Clark and her assistant Jessica Rodriguez, who was the Spanish translator, first spoke of the basics of diabetes Type 1 and Type 2. Soon afterwards she instructed the audience about the characteristics that put certain people more at risk to diabetes than others. For instance, Clark warned that family history, overweightness, inactiveness, ages 45 and over, and certain races have higher percentages of getting diabetes.
After the basics, Clark instructed on how to control oneself when facing low blood sugar or high blood sugar. The symptoms and solutions were all addressed and clearly explained. The audience was constantly learning and getting involved as several questions were continuously asked. Language barriers were not a problem, as everyone was there for the same cause. And by the time Clark got to the meal planning, everyone was learning new things about nutrition facts and healthy serving sizes. For instance, she spoke about the truths on “trans-fat” items, and spread awareness on a perfect meal plan with assorted amounts of food from the food pyramid. All of this information was not only beneficial to diabetes patients, but was also beneficial to anyone who wanted to live a healthier lifestyle.
Holding such seminars was a huge opportunity for the Livingstone CDC patients and people in the community to open their eyes to healthier choices. These kinds of activities are what make Livingstone CDC distinct and magnanimous. And with Clark’s enthusiasm and knowledge, the seminar was nothing less than excellent.
