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Texas A&M’s Healthy South Texas Diabetes Education Program is now working in partnership with South Texas College to establish a diabetes education pilot program that will be open to the community.
STC and A&M representatives gathered at the college’s Starr County campus in Rio Grande City on Wednesday to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the program’s opening.
Thanks to the program, residents can now take classes such as disease management — to be provided by clinical staff — in addition to a medication assistance program and food education.
Participants can also participate in a physical activity program that will be hosted in the renovated library facility located at the STC Starr County campus.
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The new program will not only help educate community members but will also help create a healthier region.
According to an STC news release Wednesday, Starr County is among the unhealthiest counties in Texas with adult obesity at 47%. The release continued to state that more than 21% of adults in the county live with a diabetes diagnosis totaling about 9% higher than the state average.
In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported data showing that a Hispanic adult has more than a 50% chance of developing type 2 diabetes and is likely to develop it at a younger age.
Census data shows that of the 1,368,723 residents in the Rio Grande Valley, 94.27% is Hispanic. The Valley community has long struggled with comorbidities with many residents also suffering from diabetes, heart disease and obesity.