Of the adult population in Iowa, 8.3% have diabetes.

According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control in 2014, that equated to 9.3% of men in Iowa and 7.6% of women. Washington County Hospital and Clinic’s Diabetes Education Center is hosting a diabetes technology fair next week. Diabetic Educator at WCHC Amy Martin says it’s open to anyone in the community to attend. She explains the fair will have represenatives from insulin pump, continuous glucose monitoring, and insulin companies showcase products and answer questions from patients. She adds Medicare will now cover continuous glucose monitoring with the Dexcom company, “What that means is instead of people poking their finger four or five times a day, if they’re using insulin several times a day, they can go down to just twice a day finger sticks and use a continuous glucose monitor to fill in the gaps for them that will constantly monitor their blood sugar.” The fair will be held in the south lobby of the hospital from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday.