News Release

UPMC NORTHWEST TO OFFER FREE DIABETES SCREENINGS

March 15, 2006 -- UPMC Northwest and the University of Pittsburgh Diabetes Institute will offer a free diabetes screening program later this month in conjunction with the American Diabetes Alert.

Screenings will be offered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, in the lobby of the UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Northwest on the hospital’s ground floor. Blood pressure, blood glucose, and diabetes retinopathy screenings will be included. A three-hour fast is preferred for the blood glucose screenings.

Advance registration is not required. All screenings will be on a walk-in basis.

The American Diabetes Alert is intended to focus attention on the serious nature of diabetes and to provide opportunities for screening, education, and awareness of the disease. Individuals who have diabetes, persons who may be at increased risk of developing the disease, and those who are experiencing symptoms of diabetes are encouraged to participate in the upcoming screening.

Risk factors for diabetes include a family history of the disease, excess weight, a lack of physical fitness, advancing age (especially age 65 or older) and having a high birth weight baby (nine pounds or more), says Amy Uhler, RN, BC, Learning Resource Center manager at UPMC Northwest. Symptoms, which often develop slowly, include frequent hunger or thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision, wounds that don’t heal, and numbness or tingling in the feet.

For more information, call the Learning Resource Center at UPMC Northwest, 814-676-7992.