TULSA – The 19th Annual Diabetes Awareness Summit was held on Thursday, Aug 28 at the River Spirit Casino in Tulsa. The summit continues the work of increasing the health and quality of life for MCN citizens, and encouraging healthy lifestyle choices. Activities like yoga and dancing were offered to participants as well as health screenings.
The event also offered information booths from a number of MCN departments and programs including the Tribal Opioid Response Program, and the MCN Stroke Prevention Program. Other groups like the Euchee Butterfly Farm, Utica Park Clinic, Total Care Orthotics and Prosthetics, and GlobalHealth also provided information to guests.
MCN Secretary of Health Shawn Terry unveiled two new partnerships for the MCN Department of Health. A partnership between Nephrology Specialists of Oklahoma and Council Oak Comprehensive Healthcare will focus on providing medical services related to patients’ kidneys, such as dialysis and renal transplants. The MCNDH and OU Health partnership will set up a Vascularization and Limb Salvage Clinic. The clinic will work to improve health to avoid amputations, which Indigenous people face at rates of up to 10 times any other race.
In an Aug. 28 press release, MCNDH reported that their efforts to manage and eliminate diabetes has been a success. “As we look ahead to our 20th Annual Summit, we celebrate the historic progress made and commit to building on this work for the health of our people,” Terry said.
According to the release, MCNDH also reported “over 2,000 patients now use continuous glucose monitors, 4,000 are receiving GLP-1 therapy, and 80% of patients have an A1c under 8%. Obesity rates among patients have dropped from 70% a decade ago to 58% today.”
For more information on the work MCN Health does for Muscogee citizens, visit their website at https://www.creekhealth.org/.
