The mission of Lado A Lado

The Gateway Community Health Center's Lado A Lado (Laredoans Against Diabetes and Overweight) Program is a Diabetes Awareness and Education in the Community initiative. The mission of this program is to prevent or control diabetes by educating the Webb County community on the signs, symptoms, and consequences of the disease. Furthermore, its goals and objectives include: 1) Improving the ability within the community to provide positive changes in systems that care for and support persons with diabetes and their families. Special focus is placed on the needs of at-risk Hispanics and reducing disparities in the community; 2) Building community support for diabetes education, awareness, prevention, and treatment; and 3) Establishing useful program activities for promoting wellness for persons with diabetes or at-risk for diabetes through nutrition education, promotion of the importance of physical activity, weight control, and attempting to reduce the burden of diabetes in the border community of Laredo.
At the inception of the initiative, the project conducted a survey which showed that one out of six Laredoans over the age of 18 had type 2 diabetes and that only one percent of the persons surveyed knew that being of Hispanic origin put them at risk for developing diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults, yet only 12 percent recognized that a change in vision was a symptom of the disease. Of the persons surveyed who already knew they had diabetes, only 17 percent had heard of the Hemoglobin "A1C" test. Through these findings, the project began an intensive diabetes awareness and education campaign.
The project has expanded its capacity by forming an advisory committee comprised of 13 community residents. These include Cookie Muller, Linda Flores, Salvador Tellez, Linda Jo Perez, Matias Arambula, Dr. Gladys Keene, Dr. David Garza, Minerva García, Dr. Alfredo Treviño, Raul Perales, Tomas Izaguirre, Dr. Susan Baker, and Tom Pichot. These committee members are from varied backgrounds and are multifaceted individuals.
The program has concentrated its efforts on a major TV campaign, which includes testimonials from physicians and other high profile community leaders who have diabetes. Other public service announcements focused on the importance of exercise and healthy lifestyle habits by developing an upbeat diabetes jingle to use with ads that showed our community exercising and eating healthy. It is estimated that the TV campaign has had over 4 million exposures. In addition, Lado A Lado has had extensive coverage in print media. Since September 2000, over 107 articles on diabetes or diabetes awareness events have been published in Laredo newspapers, newsletters, church bulletins, and other publications.
Several of the major events staged by the program include the Gray Ribbon Campaign, the Diabetes Proclamation ceremony, the Salinas Elementary School Assembly, sponsorship of Walk-to-School Day, Alexander Magnet School Health Fun Fair, Diabetes Awareness Day at Mall Del Norte, Diabetes in the New Millennium Conference, Share the Vision Eye Screening, unveiling of the U.S. Postal Service Diabetes Awareness stamp, Chronic Disease Self-Management course, Diabetes Support Group, Binational Diabetes Project, development of a new diabetes brochure with Laredo data, development of a diabetes coloring book for children, sponsorship of the regional first place winner of the HOSA Community Awareness Competition, initiating Walk Texas Programs in the community, providing resources for referrals to other diabetes programs, and assisting in the implementation of worksite wellness programs.
Over 12,000 persons have received information about diabetes through these events and many other diabetes activities, which include health fairs, school presentations (students and PTA groups), worksites, social service agencies, churches, and civic organizations, among others. Lado A Lado has also disseminated over 22,000 pieces of diabetes material (pamphlets, flyers, brochures, and fact sheets) through local pharmacies and mail-outs. The project is committed to raising awareness in the community about diabetes and to bring education to Webb County residents and medical providers in order to prevent or control this silent killer, which is taking a toll on our Hispanic population. Diabetes is a growing epidemic, and a disturbing trend is that the disease is increasingly being seen in children.
For additional information on the program, please contact project coordinator Marta Stineff at (956) 523-3670. Lado A Lado is located at the Gateway Community Health Center at 2309 Saunders in Laredo.