November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and you are invited to celebrate international World Diabetes Day with Reppell Diabetes Learning Center on Tuesday, November 14. World Diabetes Day is celebrated annually by the International Diabetes Federation and its member associations. It engages millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness. World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat that diabetes now poses.

The Reppell Diabetes Learning Center is celebrating World Diabetes Day locally by hosting a free diabetes education program. Diabetes and Your Heart is an all day event, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Lagerborg Dining Room at BRMC. Adults are invited to attend from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch provided. Children and their families are invited from 3 to 6 p.m. with dinner provided. The event with include guest speakers, vendors, cooking demonstrations, give-a-ways, games, plus a very special guest from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Lauren Sivewright, Senior Development Coordinator of the Arkansas Chapter of JDRF, will discuss advances in T1D research and provide insight on the latest developments on the artificial pancreas.

The event is free, but space is limited. To register or for more information, call the RDLC at (870) 508-1765, email RDLC Coordinator Jodi Bodenhamer, RN, CDE, at jbodenhamer@baxterregional.org, or visit baxterregional.org/events to register online.