NMU student and UPDON partner for diabetes education

REPUBLIC — A local NMU student is volunteering with an organization to spread awareness on the issues of diabetes.

This is senior year for Lauren Franklin – a Community Health Education student. She is already getting practice in her field and has traveled around the world to teach others about diabetes.

Franklin says, “With Northern I went to Belize this past summer and we spent about a week and a half there, and what we were doing, we were going into rural communities and bringing mobile health clinics. So we brought over medicines and things like that, and we were also doing a diabetes research study there as well.”

Her experience there inspired her to volunteer with the U.P. Diabetes Outreach Network. She currently volunteers with UP-DON to bring diabetes programs to rural areas in the UP to spread awareness.

“There’s 62.5% of Michigan Diabetics that have never received any diabetes education in their life. So they have diabetes, and even going to the doctor and being diagnosed,” Franklin added, “but they’re not getting the proper care or treatment, which is just shocking. So that’s why we think we need to go into the community, talk about these symptoms.”

They are currently holding these meetings in Marquette County and hope to bring them to Michigamme.

For more information on UPDON click here.