The Neighborhood Hub to host inaugural We Can Prevent Diabetes World Tour – Dec. 6

MINNEAPOLIS - Dec. 5, 2013 - PRLog -- The We Can Prevent Diabetes World Tour is a promotional health fair that will create ongoing awareness and understanding that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed in people with pre-diabetes. The event will be put on jointly by clinics and the Neighborhood Hub serving people in the Twin Cities. The purpose of the World Tour event is to increase awareness about pre-diabetes, who is at risk for type 2 diabetes, and how people can reduce their  risk of developing it. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed in people with pre-diabetes.

On December 6, at 5:30 p.m. in Minneapolis, at the Neighborhood Hub located at 3210 Oliver Avenue North is host to the 2013 We Can Prevent Diabetes World Tour Minnesota. Local clinics including NorthPoint Health and Wellness, Axis Medical Center, Neighborhood HealthSource, Open Cities Health Center, with food served by the Neighborhood Hub’s Healthy Eating Food Team, invite you to participate in an evening of health screenings, free flu shots, networking and food.

The goal is simple. The Minnesota Department of Health Diabetes Program is seeking community members with pre-diabetes to be part of a study that will assist participants in learning to eat healthy, be active on a regular basis and learn how to lower their risk of type 2 diabetes.

The 2013 We Can Prevent Diabetes World Tour is being billed as an “Event of Tremendous and Immeasurable Proportion” – and rightly so. Pre-diabetes affects individuals of every race and ethnicity. The African American community in the Twin Cities is at higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes. This event is an attempt  to hear the stories; tell the stories and guide people to the assistance and referrals they need to lead a healthy life.

The public radio community collaborator Ampers is providing public service announcements for this event. Social media marketing is by Internet Marketing Social Media Concepts-MN. The state Council on Black Minnesota is in support of this event.

This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP at www.projectknowmore.com - or for more information, please call 612.986.0010.

(Click here to download a copy of the promotional poster here (https://www.icloud.com/iw/#pages/BAJC30fnhkh4xBBfQqB145aM...).)

About The Neighborhood Hub:
The Neighborhood Hub was originally established as a One-Stop Family Support Center in 2005, serving 50 North Minneapolis families of color each year, including families with individuals with disabilities, with funding from the Federal Administration on Developmental Disabilities and the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities. It soon grew to serve 1,500 people per year. By having a consistent presence of African Americans on staff, the “One Stop” and later the Hub, carved out a niche of serving the African American community in a culturally competent way. A mixture of accountability and compassion are core values at the Hub. In recent years, an MDH Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative (EHDI) has allowed the Hub to extend its services in the African American community to include proactive approaches to improving the quality of life for Black people. Through one on one conversations and focus groups, we have provided opportunities for African Americans to speak for themselves about what they think will improve their health, including social determinants informed by policy and system issues.

About NorthPoint Health and Wellness:
NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center is a multi-specialty medical, dental and mental health center and human service agency located in North Minneapolis. Their modern facility is handicapped accessible with ample parking; has free transportation services for area patients and is conveniently located on several bus routes. It is administered through a partnership between Hennepin County and a Community Board of Directors comprising NorthPoint’s patients and people who live and/or work in the community. NorthPoint strives to improve the physical and socio-economic health of the North Minneapolis community through an integrated model of health and human services.

About Axis Medical Center:
AXIS Medical Center opened in 2008. The clinic was founded by a group of health care professionals to serve both the residents of Stevens Square/Loring Heights as well as the East African community. AXIS is located in a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) in the Stevens Square neighborhood of Minneapolis, meaning that there is not sufficient access to affordable primary and preventive health care for its residents. The founders’ vision is to also provide culturally competent health care, specifically to the refugees from Somalia and East Africa, who would otherwise
experience significant disparities in their physical and mental health compared to American born citizens. Axis Medical Center will be providing free flu shots at this event.

About Neighborhood HealthSource:
Neighborhood Healthsource has provided high-quality primary health care for over 40 years. The cornerstones are its three community-based clinic sites conveniently located in North and Northeast Minneapolis. Operated for decades as Fremont Community Clinics, the organization name was changed to Neighborhood HealthSource in 2010.

About Open Cities Health Center (OCHC):
OCHC is a nonprofit community health care clinic whose mission is to see every patient who walks through the door, regardless of the patient's socio-economic status, ethnic make-up or racial affiliation. Other clinics, hospitals and social service agencies routinely refer patients to OCHC because their clients have no insurance, are underinsured, or for any number of reasons they cannot pay for their health care.

About Ampers:
Ampers stations know Minnesota. That’s because Ampers is a collection of 15 independent community radio stations across our great state. From the North Shore of Lake Superior to the city streets of Minneapolis. From the Blue Earth River near Mankato to the natural beauty of Grand Rapids, they’ve got Minnesota covered.

About the state Council on Black Minnesotans:
The Council on Black Minnesotans was created in 1980 to ensure that people of African heritage fully and effectively participate in and equitably benefit from the political, social, and economic resources, policies and procedures of the State of Minnesota.

About the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH):
The MDH Diabetes Program is hosting this event to help identify community members who are at risk for developing diabetes to participate in a study that tests the effects of incentives on weight loss and attendance in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). The DPP is a lifestyle change program that helps people eat healthier and be more physically active. The DPP has been proven to reduce type 2 diabetes by nearly 60% in adults with pre-diabetes who lose 5 to 7% of their starting weight. The program is provided free to overweight adults with pre-diabetes who are on Medicaid. To view a video and learn more information about the DPP click here (http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/).