Keeping their blood sugar levels in a normal range is one of the most important things someone with diabetes can do for their health. But with COVID-19 disrupting routines and health care visits and leading to higher levels of stress, that’s been hard to do. NHRMC’s primary care offices have seen a sharp increase in patients’ blood sugar levels over the past year.
A1C levels show a patient’s average blood sugar levels over the past three months. It’s the most important number for people with diabetes to know, said Charin Hanlon, MD, because it’s directly tied to the long-term complications that can harm those living with diabetes. Higher A1C levels are directly linked to diabetes complications, such as kidney, heart, and eye disease.
This year, dozens of mothers who wouldn’t otherwise have had access to a doula will receive personalized, hands-on help from doulas and other community health workers before, during, and after their babies are born.
That’s thanks to NHRMC’s Community Health Worker-Doula Program, which officially began in January. The program, funded by a two-year grant, connects pregnant mothers to a community health worker and doulas who will help educate and serve as a support system for the moms during their pregnancies and for up to a year after they give birth.
The program will primarily serve Black mothers in New Hanover, Pender, and Columbus counties, whose babies die more often than do babies born to white or Hispanic mothers. If a Black baby is born underweight which is more likely to happen to Black infants than it is to white infants that baby is almost four times more likely to die.
More than 4,200 frontline healthcare workers and providers at New Hanover Regional Medical Center have already received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, which were initially offered to frontline healthcare workers at the highest risk of exposure to the virus.
North Carolina has now opened eligibility to phase 1b, group 1 of the state s vaccination plan. Last week, NHRMC Physician Group Primary Care started vaccinating patients age 75 and older. NHRMC Physician Group will announce when additional groups are eligible to make appointments to receive a vaccine.
Below are some answers to frequently asked questions about the vaccine.
What is the COVID-19 vaccine?