FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, February 11, 2009

CONTACT:
Cindy Hickey, 330-489-1212
cindy.hickey@cantonmercy.org

Mercy Offers Free Diabetes Health & Equipment Fair

Canton, Ohio: Mercy Medical Center’s Diabetes Education Program is offering its eighth annual Diabetes Health & Equipment Fair from 3 to 6 p.m., Thursday, March 19 at Mercy Medical Center’s Mercy Hall Auditorium. Free to the community, the fair will feature exhibitors with product samples and educational materials; blood pressure checks; neuropathy, blood sugar and spinal screenings; insulin pump information; Nintendo Wii demos promoting physical activity; and door prizes and refreshments. No reservations are required; just stop in.

Diabetes, a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, affects over 23 million children and adults in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association. Mercy’s Diabetes Education Program promotes education and health care for those with diabetes and their families through support groups, individual instruction and group classes. For more information, call Debra Shaw, RN, BSN, CDE, at 330-489-1484.

Mercy Medical Center, a nonprofit corporation of the Sisters of Charity Health System and University Hospitals Health System, operates a 476-bed hospital serving Stark, Carroll, Wayne, Holmes and Tuscarawas Counties and parts of Southeastern Ohio. It has 550 physicians on its Medical Staff and employs 2,500 people. Mercy operates outpatient health centers in Carrollton, Jackson Township, Lake Township, Louisville, North Canton, Plain Township and Tuscarawas County. A Catholic hospital, Mercy Medical Center upholds the mission and philosophy of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and continues to be responsive to the needs of the community, including the provision of care to all, regardless of their ability to pay. For more information, see www.cantonmercy.com.

###