Shelby’s healthfulness to be studied in program

Just hearing the word “diabetes” conjures up distressing images of every kind of ailment associated with the disease, from blindness to limb amputation.

By Lisa King

Shelby County Judge-Executive Rob Rothenburger speaks to a group at the Stratton Center Thursday about a grant to study Diabetes.

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But a meeting Thursday at the Stratton Center in Shelbyville to announce a $2.5 million grant to launch a tri-county coalition as part of a national program to combat diabetes generated both a large crowd as well as a ray of hope for the future.

More than 100 people attended the first meeting of  the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency’s Rural Diabetes Coalition. Another is scheduled for Bullitt County on March 17.

The event drew a crowd as diverse as those who spoke, a group that ranged from government officials to doctors, to social workers, to KIPDA personnel.

“Our goal is to work in concert with the community to make it a healthier place to live,” said Barbara Gordon, director of the division of social services for KIPDA.

She said a grant, administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will fund a program aimed at reducing diabetes-related disparities in vulnerable populations – in this case, Shelby, Bullitt and Henry counties – that the CDC has identified in Kentucky as having the highest incidence of diabetes (10.1 percent).

The state average is 9.9 percent, and the national average (7.7 percent).

“We are trying to increase healthy lifestyle changes and prevent severe complications from diabetes in these counties,” said Annatjie Faul of the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville.

Terry Singer, dean of the school, said, “To receive an award of two point five million dollars in these economic times is quite an honor. It’s just the beginning to taking us to greater health, and this grant is a step toward making that happen, and we are very grateful.”

Professionals from KIPDA’s division of social services will be collaborating with the Kent school’s faculty on a 5-year effort, working with community members in each county to assess what residents consider to be their greatest health needs, as well as factors that may hinder their efforts to achieve healthy lifestyles.

These factors may be wide-ranging, such as having access to fresh fruits and vegetables, walking trails, biking paths and affordable health-related services.

Shelby County Judge-Executive Rob Rothenburger told the crowd that he is not only excited to be included in the program but also proud to say that in the past eight years that he has been county judge, the county has improved facilities and services that promote health.

“Our parks and rec have good places to exercise and work out, and our fiscal court has been working to put in sidewalks to make walking easier,” he said. “We also have health fairs and farmers markets and other special events that promote health.”

But Mona Huff, a community organizer for KIPDA in Henry County, brought the reality home to those listening of just what hideous things diabetes can do in a way that statistics never could illustrate.

“One day a couple of years ago, I passed out, and when I fell, I broke my collarbone,” she said. “At the hospital, I found out my blood sugar was five hundred and sixty-nine.

“My vision and my kidneys were also being affected, and I had to be put on insulin. That was a very frightening time for my husband and me.”

Huff told about how she would have to get in the car to drive to her neighbor’s house, a  tenth of a mile away.

“Now, I walk two miles a day, I’ve lost seventy-two pounds, and I am off the medication,” she said. “The day I threw away my handicapped parking sticker was a happy day for me.”