Overview| Testimonials
The Diabetes & Hypertension Program, locally known as Ponte En Forma, or Get Fit, was started by Galapagos ICE to address the growing trends of obesity, diabetes and hypertension among both children and adults on the islands. It involves educating the locals about good nutrition, encouraging exercise and monitoring the blood pressure and blood sugar levels of at risk individuals.
Diabetes and Hypertension Control Clinic
Recently Galapagos ICE, with the approval of the Santa Cruz Municipal Government, helped established hours in the Municipal Health Center focusing on the prevention and control of diabetes and hypertension. Though the Health Centers normal hours are 8-12pm and 2pm-4pm, locals can go to the center Monday – Friday, 8am -10am for a free check ups or to get nutrition advice. At the center Galapagos ICE volunteers work with local nurse, Nancy Benavides, testing glucose levels and blood pressure and provides education on the benefits of good nutrition and how to eat healthily.
Establishing the specific center hours to do follow-ups with high risk locals with the municipal government was an important step in helping to empower the local health workers to focus on this issue. However, due to the severe shortage of medical professionals on the Islands, volunteers, in particular nutritionists, nurses and medical students are still needed to help.
Saturday Market Diabetes and Hypertension Screening
Galapagos ICE offers free screening for risk factors associated with diabetes and hypertension on Saturday mornings at the local market in Puerto Ayora. Every week locals line up to have their blood pressure and blood sugar levels tested by our volunteer health professionals. Nutrition advice is offered and exercise is encouraged. Those individuals who are identified to be at risk for these conditions are asked to either go to the local hospital or do regular check-ups at the Municipal Health Center.
We rely entirely on volunteers, such as nutritionists, nurses and other health professionals to provide this valuable community service.
Through the generous and talented work of our volunteers, Ponte en Forma has already screened more than a thousand individuals for risk factors associated with diabetes and hypertension. In the future we would like to also provide cholesterol testing, for which we need to buy a cholesterol testing machine and testing strips. If you would like to contribute to this your donation is greatly appreciated!
Diabetes and Hypertension Special Clinics
Santa Cruz Island does not have specialty Doctors, we would like to offer better medical advise to locals concerning Hypertension or Diabetes and are looking for volunteers to come to the Islands for 2 (or more) weeks every 6 months to offer more detailed testing, especially to high-risk individuals. We need endocrinologists and cardiologists to volunteer to help us with this work as specialist medical professionals. Read Ponte En Forma Research Report-RW-0809 written by Rosie Wilson for quick stats about Ponte En Forma in 2009. If you are interested in volunteering as an individual or a group please contact us!
To support this work we are also aiming to invest in an EKG/ECG machine and we are grateful for any donations to help this great cause.
Find out more about volunteering with Galapagos ICE!
