VENTURA, CA – A $390,000 federal grant will help the Latino Healthcare League and St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard expand diabetes prevention, education and case management programs for the region's high-risk Latino population.

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, visited the hospital Friday to announce the funding, which she helped secure for the hospital through the federal appropriations process, and to learn more about the efforts already under way to improve diabetes diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

Disease called an epidemic

"Diabetes is an epidemic," Capps said. "When you recognize the implications on a particular population, such as the predominance here with the Latino community, that's a serious, serious situation."

As many as 10 percent of Latino adults over 20 in the Oxnard area either have diabetes or will in their lifetime, she said, and the numbers keep rising. In addition, younger people, including teenagers, are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Capps decided to pursue the funding after one of her staff members learned of the work being done by the Latino Healthcare League, an offshoot of the St. John's Healthcare Foundation. The best use of federal money is on existing community programs, because the money can be spent to enhance and continue programs that already work, Capps said.

"Good ideas sell themselves," she said. "It's for the good of the country to match this funding."

The Healthcare League was formed about four years ago by a group of local physicians concerned about Latino health issues.

It quickly became clear that diabetes was "the discussion we should provoke," said oncologist and league chairman Dr. Henry Montes, because it was so prevalent in the community. Many people, he said, were not getting diagnosed or receiving adequate treatment and case management.

'Something we can't ignore'

"This is something we can't ignore," he said. "The emphasis is on providing the education and the awareness."

Last year, the league and the hospital launched a "Diabetes Academy," a series of classes to help physicians better understand the disease, treatments and medical advancements in the field so they could better educate their patients.

The hospital also offers diabetes support groups, seminars on the disease, exercise groups, and case management services for patients diagnosed with diabetes while in the hospital. Also in the works are outreach and prevention efforts for at-risk children 9 to 14 that will emphasize exercise and healthy eating.

The federal funding will allow the league and hospital to continue and expand those efforts, said Christina M. Fernandez, the vice president of mission integration for St. John's, who oversees the hospital's community benefit programs.

"We intend to use it to extend and repeat the physicians academy and add education for nurses," she said, "and also for managing care for the vulnerable" who might have trouble getting regular checkups or other care.

Maria Zavala said she believes she is proof the programs work.

Diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, she joined a three-days-a-week walking club sponsored by St. John's at the Oxnard Boys and Girls Club to help improve her health. Now, her sugar levels are much lower, and so is her blood pressure.

"I'm 67 years old, and, let me tell you, I feel great," she said.

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