Porter County Board of Health funds community diabetes screening, backs AED registry grant and approves emergency preparedness contract

The Porter County Board of Health on a series of unanimous votes approved one-year funding to continue a mobile diabetes screening program, authorized applying for a countywide AED registry grant, and voted to contract an emergency preparedness coordinator on a six-month term.

The board approved a $6,529.76 allocation to continue the Reducing Undiagnosed Diabetes Initiative (RUDI), a partnership between the health department and Powers Health that used a mobile A1C testing unit to screen community members. Lisa Kyger, director of business development for Powers Health, told the board the program screened roughly 776 people during the first eight months of activity and found about 30% of high-risk testers were prediabetic or diabetic. Kyger said Powers Health is asking the board to fund supplies for up to 500 additional tests for the coming year.

The RUDI request broke down supply costs and alternatives: screening supplies for 500 patients were estimated at $6,529.76; projections for 750 patients were $9,537.70 and for 1,000 patients $12,545.64. Shannon (last name not provided), a registered nurse and certified diabetes care and education specialist with Powers Health, described outreach at workplaces, YMCAs and libraries and said the program aims to reach adults 35 and older who are overweight or obese, citing the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation to screen that population. Kyger and Shannon said the per-test cartridge cost is about…