April 2020 Newsletter
What's Happening in Appalachia?
Tuskegee Health and Education Coalition Dancing Dolls! (Macon County, Alabama)
**Correction: The Tuskegee Health and Education Coalition
is located in Alabama not Mississippi.
Dance moves and grooves themed exercise class was FUN!   The St. Mark Church Silver & Gold Exercise Team [Tuskegee, AL] not only bunny-hopped but also did the wobble, electric slide, cha-cha with a little ‘twist’ and ‘cotton-eyed joe’ action thrown in!   Dance-ercise is painless! In addition to 'cuttin' the rug' we 'cut' calories and snip off inches! The music and instructions seem to energize participants and laughing at each other is contagious.   As we move, joints are lubricated, sugar levels decrease, the heart gets stronger, and we smile! Join us! 
April 1st is National Walking Day!
Sponsored by the American Heart Association, National Walking Day is celebrated on the first Wednesday of April. The annual event is a call-to-action to increase our physical activity and reduce our sedentary lifestyle by championing us to walk. As a program which focuses on walking as the most common form of physical activity for participants, we encourage coaches and their participants to join starting with a 30-minute (or longer) walk that day. Help us make April National Walking Month across Appalachia and celebrate all month long. Feel free to share stories and photos of individuals and groups that have taken walks together (but practicing social distancing)!
How can we help you?
Shelia Plogger
splogger@marshall.edu
Regina Knox
knoxr@marshall.edu
Nell Stuart
slover@marshall.edu
As a member of the Appalachian Diabetes Network, your coalition can request technical assistance and leader training to build your coalition's capacity to implement programs, activities, and events that reduce the prevalence of diabetes. Contact us to discuss customized technical assistance that meets your coalition's needs. We are here to help you succeed!
We are now hosting weekly check-ins!! 
Stop by for a minute or two!
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Diabetes Statistics Report
The  National Diabetes Statistics Report is a periodic publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that provides updated statistics about diabetes in the United States for a scientific audience. It includes information on prevalence and incidence of diabetes, prediabetes, risk factors for complications, acute and long-term complications, deaths, and costs.
American Diabetes Association
2020 Standard of Medical Care in Diabetes
The 2020 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes includes all of American Diabetes Association current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide clinicians, patients, researchers, payers, and others with the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals, and tools to evaluate the quality of care.
Diabetes Disaster Response Coalition
The CDC has determined that COVID-19 (coronavirus) is a serious public health threat—and older adults and people with serious chronic medical conditions, including diabetes , are at a higher risk of getting very sick from it. We have resources to help keep individuals healthy. Managing diabetes can be even harder when dealing with a disaster. During an emergency crisis, it is critical for people with diabetes to have access to life-saving medications and supplies. Since people living with diabetes face unique challenges during times of disaster, the CDC created a Diabetes Disaster Preparedness Plan which includes a checklist of supplies, information and guidelines to help individuals remain safe and healthy. Building a “diabetes kit” now can save a lot of worry and time when a disaster strikes. For more information visit https://www.diabetesdisasterresponse.org/.
My Diabetes Plan Emergency Checklist
Are you Prepared?
People living with diabetes are at higher risk for serious complications related to COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC is recommending that people with diabetes, as well as other vulnerable populations, take extra precautions to reduce their risk. Diabetes Emergency Kit: The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has developed a diabetes Emergency Kit checklist to help you better prepare for emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
From the Director's Desk
For the past two decades, Dr. Richard Crespo has served as the Program Director for the Appalachian Diabetes Control and Translation Project (ADCTP) at Marshall University . The ADCTP is a network of over 70 coalitions from across Appalachia, who are working to reduce the diabetes epidemic.

This project helps community coalitions organize around the problem of diabetes, including planning, implementing and evaluating their specific projects. Diabetes coalitions receive ongoing training and technical assistance to implement evidence-based programs that increase physical activity options, improve access to nutrition education programs, reduce food insecurities, and increase access to diabetes self-management education programs and diabetes prevention programs. Coalitions learn how to identify barriers that exist in their communities and develop realistic strategies that will meet the unique needs of their communities.

This project is a federal, state, and community partnership involving the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and a team at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Rural Health at Marshall University that provides direct technical assistance and training for the coalitions.