Griffin Diabetes Support, Health Empowerment Talks On Tap

DERBY — Being told that you have diabetes can leave you with questions.

Where can you get information? What should you look for? What changes should you make to your diet?

Get some answers at the Diabetes Education & Support Group at Griffin Hospital. In conjunction with Merck pharmaceutical company, Griffin is sponsoring a free diabetes education workshop on Tuesday, September 8, at 7 pm, in the hospital’s Meditation Learning Center.

Attendees will learn how to manage their diabetes and plan meals better, the importance of checking their blood sugar and what the results mean, and have questions answered by a diabetes expert. Space is limited, so call 203-732-7371 to sign up.

The Diabetes Education & Support Group, in conjunction with the American Diabetes Association, meets at Griffin Hospital on the second Tuesday of each month September–June, at 7 pm, to discuss the management of diabetes, its challenges, and day-to-day dietary concerns. This group is open to all patients and their families, at no charge.

In other news, the latest imaging and diagnostics technology, chronic knee or hip pain, single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), arthritis, and syncope, a temporary loss of consciousness or fainting, are among the scheduled talks by Griffin physicians to be presented as part of the hospital’s ongoing Health Empowerment Series.

Other topics include shoulder pain, reconstructive breast surgery, congestive heart failure, and complementary medicine.

Unless otherwise noted, all programs take place at 6:30 pm at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division Street. The talk schedule is as follows:

August 25, 6:30 pm, and October 15, 2:30 pm: “Is Chronic Knee or Hip Pain Slowing You Down?” Dr Ignatius Komninakas

September 1: “Advances in Laparoscopic Surgery — Is Single-Incision ‘Scarless’ Surgery Right for You?” Dr Leland Soto

September 10: “Is Your Best Vision Ahead of You?” Dr Joseph Sokol

September 16: “Coping With Arthritis,” Dr Rahul Anand

September 22: “Syncope,” Dr Martin Plavec

September 29: “Cure for an Aching Shoulder,” Dr Robert Nolan

October 6: “Double-Teaming Breast Cancer,” Dr Kathleen Minnick and Dr Boris Goldman (this program will take place at the new Center for Cancer Care, 350 Seymour Avenue)

October 13: “Living Wills and Other Advance Directives,” Todd Liu, Esq, and Rita Crana, LCSW.

October 27: “Congestive Heart Failure,” Dr Lavanya Bellumkonda.

October 27: “Complementary Medicine,” Dr Ather Ali.

The Health Empowerment Series is designed to encourage attendees to be active participants in their health and to educate them on some of the latest treatments and procedures being used at Griffin Hospital. To register for the free sessions, call Griffin Infosource at 203-732-1511 or register online at www.griffinhealth.org.