The following is a press release from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Department of Health.
GLENPOOL, Okla. – The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Department of Health hosted the 17th Annual Diabetes Summit on Thursday, Sept. 14th at the Glenpool Conference Center. The summit featured presentations from experts in diabetes, health, and nutritional food knowledge. This year’s event focused on the theme “Complications Can Be Prevented”, highlighting the importance of early prevention and management of diabetes.
Attendees were able to take advantage of a variety of activities, including free health screenings, physical activity breakouts, informative sessions on meal preparation, and the opportunity to network with health exhibitors.
“This annual diabetes summit is one of the most crucial dates on the Muscogee Nation’s calendar year,” said Principal Chief David Hill. “In one setting, we have an opportunity to educate people on the disease, draw strength from survivor stories, and to share all of the resources this Nation has to offer its citizens to support them and their fight with diabetes.”
According to the CDC, Native Americans are almost three times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than any other ethnic group. MCN remains dedicated to decreasing these numbers by making investments in modern therapies.
“We recognize that diabetes is something that disproportionately affects our people and we do not take that lightly,” said Secretary of Health Shawn Terry. “There’s no treatment we won’t seek, new technologies we won’t explore, and no resources we won’t pursue to win this battle. Because of the investments we have made, we are seeing substantial decreases in weight and improved A1Cs within our patient population.”
The Diabetes Summit is hosted each year around August or September. The summit is open to citizens of the Muscogee Nation and other tribal citizens that live within the Muscogee Nation Reservation. For more information on MCN Health and resources available for diabetes treatment and prevention, visit Creekhealth.org.
