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Senator Schumer Visits Hudson Valley Hospital Center to Bring Attention to the Battle Against Diabetes
 | | Pictured, Senator Schumer (left) and Hudson Valley Hospital President John Federspiel snacks. A special treat might |
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Senator Charles Schumer recently visited Hudson Valley Hospital Center, to highlight the strategies to combat the alarming rise in diabetes. Diabetes is an epidemic in Westchester and Putnam counties. This disease increasingly is afflicting our population and creating a devastating impact on both our citizens and the healthcare system.
There's been a spike in diabetes here, with 140,000 local residents - 4.8 percent or the population of Westchester County 7.5 percent in Putnam County, and 6.6 percent in Rockland County - and the numbers keep going up. This is Type II diabetes which affects young and old. Nationally, there's been a 100% increase since 1994. What other disease has doubled? Heart disease is going down; cancer is going down
According to Senator Schumer: "Our kids are gaining weight... When I was born in 1950 - I'm a baby boomer - there were 70 kids on my street in Brooklyn and when we got home, we had milk and cookies, and then we went outside and ran around until dark....Kids these days don't do that. They come home and sit in front of a TV or a computer and get less exercise. They also don't eat as well. I ate snacks. A special treat might be a little bag of potato chips. Even if you don't have diabetes now [if you're overweight], your chances increase of getting it when you're older."
Hudson Valley Hospital Center is currently offering two programs to help the community combat this epidemic:
a) Their Wellness Club in the Cortlandt Town Center offers both teenagers and adults medically supervised exercise and nutritional programs, called "Weight to Go," to help members adopt permanent lifestyle changes to fight obesity. The Wellness Club is the only medically supervised fitness center in Westchester or Putnam counties.
b) They have broken ground on a new Wound Care Center, which will provide state-of-theart wound treatment right here in our community. Many patients with diabetes suffer from chronic sores that do not heal. They are installing a hyperbaric high-pressure oxygen chamber to help heal wounds that left untreated could lead to infections and amputations.
The diabetes epidemic did not happen overnight, nor will the problem be solved overnight. Start taking small steps. Even a 10-lb. weight loss reduces the risk of diabetes. The hospital is committed to providing the support our community needs to fight this battle
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