Rutland Regional Medical Center to host online diabetes prevention program

The community health improvement team at Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) will host a free online diabetes prevention program beginning Saturday, Sept. 7, from 9-10 a.m., and continuing Saturdays through Aug. 2, 2025.

Attendees learn how to decrease their risk of developing diabetes through healthy eating, getting more physical activity, managing stress, and creating action plans that work for them. The year-long program consists of 16 weekly core sessions, plus monthly maintenance sessions to help hard-wire healthy behaviors and to provide encouragement toward success. The online self-management workshop for diabetes prevention will be facilitated by Kristen Hixon who is a well known expert on diabetes prevention, care, and management.

“Many people find out that they are at risk for diabetes from their healthcare provider, and they are the lucky ones,” said Joann Lemay, self-management regional coordinator at RRMC. “About 9 in 10 people with prediabetes don’t know that they have it so knowing one’s risk is good and provides a chance to take steps to help prevent diabetes.”

Taking steps to prevent diabetes is important especially since about 1 in 3 people with prediabetes will progress into diabetes within five years.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have created this evidenced-based diabetes prevention program that has been proven to help people reduce or delay their risk for Type 2 diabetes. Participants in the diabetes prevention program will learn how to lower their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by more than half by making small lifestyle changes. Data show that participants of the program were more likely to reduce their weight by 5%.

Participants in the diabetes prevention workshop will learn a lot about proper nutrition, ways to develop support systems, and how to identify triggers that lead to unhealthy behaviors or choices.

To see your risk for prediabetes, take a prediabetes risk quiz at: myhealthyvt.org/prediabetes-risk-quiz. For more information, visit: MyHealthyVT.org.