Today is American Diabetes Association Alert Day.

Quality Insights Quality Innovation Network’s Everyone with Diabetes Counts program is working with patients, health care providers and community organizations in Pennsylvania to raise awareness, share information about how to lower risk factors for getting diabetes and help those who have diabetes learn to best manage their condition for a healthier life.

In the United States, approximately 30.3 million people have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is a diabetes prevalence of 26.7 percent for people aged 65 to 74 and 21.3 percent for people aged 75 and older in Pennsylvania, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services statistics from 2016.

Diabetes is known as the most common cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations in adults and a leading cause of heart disease and stroke.

Quality Insights has been providing free diabetes self-management education classes through the EDC program to people with Medicare in Pennsylvania since 2015.

EDC is a community-based approach that encourages participation and provides a structure to support people with Medicare in their commitment to managing diabetes. Classes typically last six weeks.

Participants learn about diabetes risks, nutrition, weight management, how to properly manage medications and much more. Past participants have reported weight loss, improvement of lab results and a decrease in medications. In Pennsylvania, EDC classes are typically held in places like senior centers, senior residences, community centers and churches. There is no cost.

Visit www.qualityinsights-qin.org for more information and for a list of currently scheduled classes. Call 877-346-6180 or email swills@qualityinsights.org for more information.