HEALTHY EATONVILLE PLACE REPORTS

After 3 years, joint effort to battle diabetes in community thrives

Three years after opening its doors, a health education center in Eatonville is reporting promising results, providing evidence that investing in communitybased initiatives pays off.

Almost none of the patients who participated in a study and enrolled in the pre-diabetes education program at Healthy Eatonville Place developed diabetes, and many of those who had uncontrolled diabetes learned to manage their disease and lower their blood pressure.

“This data and outcomes are powerful,” said Lisa Portelli, program director at the Winter Park Health Foundation, one of the funding partners for Healthy Eatonville Place. “I believe that for the first time [many residents] had culturally appropriate care delivered in their community and not in a traditional way.”

It was in 2011 when a survey by Healthy Central Florida, a community-based partnership, found that nearly one in four Eatonville residents had diabetes, a rate high enough to catch even the experts by surprise.

“When they sent that data to me, I said, “What?!’ ” recalled Dr. Richard Pratley, the director for research and education at the Florida Hospital Diabetes Institute. Something had to be done. Local health partners came together to discuss their options.

They held focus groups in this town of 2,200; by 2014, Florida Hospital, Healthy Central Florida and the Winter Park Health Foundation had decided to invest $1 million and establish Healthy Eatonville Place in the heart of the town.

They rolled out classes about topics like healthy cooking, prediabetes and diabetes management, and started reaching out to the community by knocking on doors and showing up at local events.

Things were slow at first, but the partners persisted; little by little, they gained the community’s trust.

By the end of 2017, the center had recorded more than 7,000 visits. More than 600 had participated in one of the center’s programs.

More than 270 participants at Healthy Eatonville Place’s programs were enrolled in a study that tracked their outcomes over the years.

The results of the study, which were announced for the first time this week, showed that almost none of the patients with pre-diabetes developed diabetes. Roughly, 80 percent of those who had diabetes managed to bring their blood pressure under control.

Some lost weight and about 60 percent said they had made changes to their diets and exercise habits.

The results also showed that nearly 40 percent lacked basic health literacy.

“Education is really important and I got educated about my numbers,” said Eatonville resident Sarah Williams — who weighed 401 pounds when she signed up for the pre-diabetes

class at Healthy Eatonville Place three years ago.

Since then, she’s lost more than 120 pounds and is training for a 5K. She started feeling better; finally, last year, she decided to seek counseling to address the sexual trauma she had suffered in the military.

“I’m taking it day by day,” said Williams, 53. “I call myself a work in progress.”

Encouraged by the findings, Florida Hospital has funded the center for another three years

Pratley said his team is next looking into playing a bigger role in helping patients find a medical home and appropriate care so that they won’t end up in the emergency room for non-urgent conditions.

“This community is extraordinary, and the engagement of the community in their health is going to make the difference,” he said.