By Glenn Aufderhar
Lopez Lions Secretary
Lyn Lindboe, RN, CEN, CDPE, will begin providing free diabetes coaching March 1 for Lopezians diagnosed with diabetes who are struggling with how to cope with the disease and its complications.
This free educational service is in cooperation with a person’s family physician and pharmacist. It is not a replacement for those health care professionals. Lindboe will help answer questions one didn’t think of at the time of the office visit. Her help will be educational, not clinical.
This free service is designed to help patients understand how to implement suggestions made by Dr. Robert Wilson or your family physician and to free up time for clinic staff to attend to other urgent needs.
“The number of Lopezians affected by the health risks and costs of type 2 diabetes prompted the Lopez Lions to take action,” said Diana Hancock Lions Club president.
“That’s why the Lions Club has contracted with Lyn Lindbo to provide two hours of free coaching each month,” Hancock added.
According to the World Health Organization every 8 seconds, someone in the world dies of diabetes or its related health complications. The epidemic is mushrooming.
One of the biggest problems according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is that more than 84 million Americans are living with pre-diabetes and they don’t know they are headed for serious trouble unless they become aware of early warning signs and make simple inexpensive changes to their lifestyle.
That’s why Lions have launched the Diabetes Educator program to help people spot the early signs of impending danger and learn how to take corrective action that reduces the risks.
Those who have type 2 diabetes will learn how to manage it more easily and may even reverse the disease in some cases.
“Lindoe’s nursing experience uniquely qualifies her to provide this coaching which is a free service to the Lopez community,” said Robin VanHyning, MSN, RN. and member of the Lopez Lions Diabetes Awareness committee who arranged for Lindboe’s service.
In Emergency Rooms Lindboe has had firsthand experience recognizing the danger signs associated with Insulin Shock and diabetes-induced complications. Her résumé includes such demanding jobs as a nurse in intensive care units and emergency rooms in a Chicago suburb. For ten years she was president of the Alaska Chapter of Emergency Nurses Assn. She is a certified instructor for both pediatric and adult trauma nursing courses.
For 11 years Lindboe spent six months each year in Chiriqui, Panama as a vital part of a rural clinic where she was often left alone as the sole medical provider.
“It was a great place to learn Spanish,” Lindboe says, “and grow fond of the Ngobe Bugle, the largest group of indigenous people in Panama”
She recently earned certification as a Diabetes Educator by the American Association of Diabetes Educators.
To contact Lyn Lindboe with questions or for assistance with diabetes-related issues, call the Lions Club Diabetes Education cell phone at 360-622-5146.
