St. Anthony’s Hospital will offer free screenings and lectures to mark World Diabetes Day on Wednesday, Nov. 14 from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the hospital's auditorium. 

Nearly 26 million adults and children in the United States suffer from diabetes – more than 8 percent of the population. Of those, 7 million people do not even know they have the disease. About 2 million new cases are expected to be diagnosed each year.

To bring some light to this ever growing epidemic, St. Anthony’s will offer free screenings from 7:30 a.m.-noon including diabetes risk assessments, blood glucose and blood pressure monitoring and body mass index assessments. For the blood glucose monitoring, it is recommended that you fast at least two hours before the test.

There also will be lectures by Venkata Budharaju, MD, who specializes in endocrinology and internal medicine, and Gerald Rizzo, MD, who specializes in nephrology and internal medicine. The physicians will discuss diabetes prevention, management and the risk of complications. Monica Bradley, a registered dietician at St. Anthony’s, will also talk about diabetes and nutrition.

Representatives from St. Anthony’s LifeHelp Nutrition and Diabetes Center will also be on hand to offer information on about how little lifestyle changes can make a big difference. There also will be exercise demonstrations, Sign Chi Do, community agency exhibits and prize drawings. A continental breakfast will be served.

To register for the event, please call (727) 253-4290 or register online at www.BayCareEvents.org.  Before the event, take a free, seven-minute diabetes risk assessment by visiting yourhealthrisk.org/diabetes.