Diabetes discussions set for Tarentum Riverview Memorial Park
Denise Kissell is driven to help people, and she enjoys talking about diabetes.
So it seems natural that Kissell would want to hold a series of discussions about the disease, in which the body's ability to produce or respond to insulin is impaired.
Kissell, a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator, will be hosting four conversations on diabetes beginning with the first on July 17 under the pavilion near the band shell at Riverview Memorial Park in Tarentum.
The sessions will run from 5 to 6 p.m. and continue over the next three Tuesdays through Aug. 7. They're free, and no advance sign-up or registration is required. Since it's under cover, they'll go on rain or shine.
They will focus on Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form and results from the body's ineffective use of insulin.
Kissell, of Buffalo Township, works just across the street at Alle-Kiski Medical Associates. She's been a registered nurse for 35 years and a diabetes educator for four years.
Kissell said she got the extra training in diabetes because it affects so many people. About 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, and the number of people with diabetes has nearly quadrupled since 1980, according to the World Health Organization.
It is one of the leading causes of death around the world, according to the WHO.
“It's very serious,” Kissell said. “There are so many terrible complications.”
Possible complications include heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, leg amputation, vision loss and nerve damage.
“I felt like we were not doing enough,” Kissell said. “I have a passion about teaching it. We need help in this area. One in 11 people has diabetes. There's a need for people to be able to teach this so they understand the basics of what they need to do.”
The talks will start with an overview of diabetes. At the second session on July 24, attendees can learn about how to check their blood sugar, and why.
The third session, on July 31, will cover healthy eating and making better choices. The final session on Aug. 7 will be a talk about moving forward in life with a diabetes diagnosis.
People can attend any of the sessions they wish. Those who come to all four will be entered in a raffle for gift cards.
Kissell hopes the sessions will become discussions, with those attending learning from each other as much as her.
“Whatever we get, people will walk away learning at least one thing,” she said.
Kissell has done other programs with diabetes patients, including walks through grocery stores to help with reading food labels and eating right. This will be the first time she's held a program like this in the park.
“I saw the need. The best way to do it was by me volunteering to do it,” she said. “I want to reach out to the community and help stop this from becoming such an epidemic.”
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCRittmeyer.
