A free Lions Club of Lloydminster event focusing on diabetes care, technology, and research will take place at the Legacy Centre on April 10 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
“It’s just to provide some information about chronic care, diabetes technology, and a little bit of insight into the future,” said Kathy Smithson, Lloydminster Lions member.
Smithson explained the event will welcome a diverse audience, including seniors, low-income individuals, and families with diabetic children.
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“We get a lot of low-income people, we get a lot of seniors, and then we get a lot of young family people,” she said.
A support group for families of children with Type 1 diabetes will also be featured.
“We’re trying really hard to get it up off the ground,” said Smithson. “We’ve got three families with young people with diabetes, with type 1 diabetes, and we’ve met a few times.”
Attendees can learn more about the research and treatments for the disease.
“The main speaker is Melanie Hibbard from the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation Canada,” said Smithson. “They do the fundraising for the diabetes research people at the U of A Hospital.”
Furthermore, Hibbard will discuss advances in diabetes research, including work by Dr. Shapiro and other researchers.
“Shapiro is the one who developed what they call the Edmonton protocol, and it’s the islet transplant,” said Smithson. “They take islet cells from a cadaver’s pancreas, do some magic with them, and then put them into a type 1 diabetic so they produce insulin.”
The event will also include healthcare professionals and industry experts.
“We have Kaylee from Lakeside Pharmacy,” said Smithson. “She’s going to have a table. She’s also our second speaker and she’s going to be talking about the different drugs used to help control diabetes.”
Medical companies such as Abbott, Dexcom, Medtronic, Tandem, and Omnipod will showcase diabetes technology.
“Abbott are the ones who produce the Libre that people use for the little buttons on their arms for testing their sugar,” said Smithson. “Dexcom will be there. Medtronic, Tandem, and Omnipod are three companies that make insulin pumps.”
Meanwhile, other healthcare services will also be available.
“We’re going to have somebody there to talk about foot care,” said Smithson. “Somebody from the kidney people is going to be there. Mental health is going to be there. Home care is going to be there.”
Additionally, the event will feature 17 information tables with experts ready to answer questions.
“There’ll be lots of people to talk to,” said Smithson. “There’ll be lots of samples and information to hand out. If you have any kind of question about anything to do with diabetes or chronic care that centres around diabetes, this is the place to come and talk.”
The event is free and open to the public.
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