Greater Pittsburgh has a wealth of resources if you’re looking for more information about diabetes, its prevention or health and wellness programs. The following list is just a starting point:

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ­AGRICULTURE launched a new guide to healthful eating this year, and the guide and other helpful information can be found at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/.

Diabetes—unfortunately, it’s probably a familiar word to all of us, whether you have a family member who has the disease or you’re worried about developing it yourself. With more than 28 million people in the United States diagnosed with diabetes and 70 million who are prediabetic or at high-risk for developing the disease*, diabetes has become a national epidemic.

Diabetes is of particular importance in our region because the largest increase in diabetes prevalence between 2000 and 2050 is expected to occur in Black men and women; the estimated risk for those individuals born in 2000 is roughly one in three. And, the death rate from diabetes among African Americans living in Allegheny County is twice the rate in Whites (see figure 1).

The American Diabetes Expo is FREE and includes health screenings, cooking demonstrations and product and service exhibitors, as well as leading experts talking about diabetes management and prevention. Get the latest information on preventing and managing diabetes and its deadly complications to help keep you and your family healthy.

This year, the Expo includes several Pathways to Better Health. Plan ahead by visiting the Expo Website and follow a pathway to get the most out of the event. Different Pathways include type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and prevention. Other activities occurring throughout the day include a healthy eating showcase, a healthy aging showcase, and opportunities to meet with specialists individually.

by Carla Johnson

CHICAGO (AP)—The nation’s worst hospitals treat twice the proportion of elderly Black patients and poor patients than the best hospitals, and their patients are more likely to die of heart attacks and pneumonia, new research shows.

Now, these hospitals, mostly in the South, may be at higher risk of financial failure, too. That’s because the nation’s new health care law punishes bad care by withholding some money, says the lead author of the study published Oct. 5 in the journal Health Affairs.