SNPhA Brings National Diabetes Month to Migrant Parents at the Fresno County Office of Education

On November 30th, the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) attended a monthly Migrant Parents meeting at the Fresno County Office of Education to provide blood glucose screenings in honor of National Diabetes Month. Jaqueline Zavala (SNPhA’s Diabetes Initiative Chair and CHSU P2 student) along with other CHSU P2 students Vu Nguyen, Madison Fesperman, and Kenya Covarrubias, screened 43 migrant parents and provided them with information regarding diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension) while under the supervision of Patty Havard, PharmD, Associate Dean for IPE Development and Research and William Ofstad, PharmD, BCPS, CDE, Assistant Dean for Education. The majority of patients were Spanish-speaking, which only emphasizes the need for bilingual health care providers in our community. In order to ensure optimal care and communication with the patients, the CHSU students translated information. Informational handouts and brochures were also available in Spanish for the patients. The purpose of the screening was to provide counseling on the importance of knowing your numbers as well as following a healthy diet and exercise routine in order to prevent chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes which causes the body’s blood sugar to rise higher than normal. This kind of diabetes is caused by the body not being able to properly use insulin, causing the pancreas to overproduce the amount of insulin that is actually needed. The body is not able to keep up with the excess insulin, which then leads to type 2 diabetes. Roughly one in two people who have diabetes are undiagnosed.
The month of November is dedicated to diabetes awareness, with November 14^th officially being World Diabetes Day. A blue circle is used as the symbol for diabetes, and grey ribbons are worn to support diabetes awareness.
CHSU is proud of our students for taking the initiative in helping people in the community.