Free Diabetes Self-Management Workshops

Naugatuck Valley Health District Offering Two

Free Live Well with Diabetes Self-Management Workshops

with In-Person or by Telephone Participation Options

“What’s most important to you? Being fit for yourself and your family? Having fun? Having energy? Everything you do to take care of yourself gives you more of what matters most. Here’s to making diabetes a part of life instead of life being all about diabetes!” (CDC, 2022).

 “¿Qué es más importante para usted? ¿Estar en buen estado físico para usted y su familia? ¿Divertirse? ¿Tener energía? Todo lo que hace para cuidarse le da más de lo que más le importa. Haga que la diabetes sea parte de su vida en lugar de hacer que su vida ¡sea todo sobre la diabetes!” (CDC, 2022).

The Naugatuck Valley Health District (NVHD) is offering two free, interactive six-week Live Well with Diabetes workshops. Live Well with Diabetes is a nationally recognized, evidence-based program that helps people with diabetes or pre-diabetes and their family members or caregivers learn new skills to help manage diabetes.

The free, six-week workshop teaches participants about healthy eating, being active, blood sugar goals, how to treat low blood sugar, taking medications, communicating with healthcare providers, basic foot care, and sick day guidelines. Other topics include creating sample menus, learning about stress management and difficult emotions, developing action plans, and avoiding complications.

Diabetes rates continue to be one of the top chronic disease conditions of concern in the Valley. Roughly 10% of adults living in the Naugatuck Valley region have diabetes¹. Chronic conditions, like diabetes, are even more common when looking at socioeconomic status and access to health services. For example, 15% of Naugatuck Valley adults earning less than $30,000 per year reported having diabetes¹. If you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, or take care of someone who does, we strongly encourage you to attend this program to help make diabetes a part of life, instead of life being all about diabetes!

In-Person Workshop Details:

The in-person workshop will take place at the Naugatuck Valley Health District in the Community Health Annex (parking and entrance in the rear of the building) every Tuesday beginning April 11 and ending May 16, 2023. Classes are 2.5 hours long, from 1:30pm to 4:00pm.

Telephone Workshop Details:

NVHD is also offering an in-home version of the workshop for adults with diabetes or pre-diabetes and their caregivers in the comfort of their home without having to use technology beyond the telephone. This group will be provided a dial-in telephone number for a 1-hour session from 10am-11am every Wednesday beginning April 12 and ending May 17, 2023.

All course materials are provided free of cost. Don’t wait; call today to register for this very interactive and informative class! Class sizes are limited and pre-registration is required. To sign up, call Nurse Kristie at 203-881-3255, extension 107.

Live Well with Diabetes is an evidence-based self-management program developed at Stanford University and  is sponsored by The South-Central CT Area Agency on Aging, State of Connecticut Unit on Aging, and Connecticut Department of Public Health through grants from the Administration on Aging and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Generous support for this local training is provided by the Valley Community Foundation and the Valley COVID-19 Response & Recovery Fund.

¹Alison Johnson, Mark Abraham, Kelly Davila, and Camille Seaberry. (2022). Understanding the Valley Region: 2022 Valley Community Index. Derby, CT: Valley Community Foundation and DataHaven.