A local hospital strives to educate the public about a life altering disease. 
   Good Samaritan Hospital held a diabetes health fair on Saturday to promote National Diabetes Month and to help raise community awareness about the disease. 
   Saturday's event featured speakers, booths and a free kidney screening to those participants who may be worried if diabetes is affecting their kidneys.
   The health fair not only encouraged treatment, but ideas on wellness to better manage a life
with diabetes. 
  "This is very important for the public to know, simply because we need to raise awareness and let everyone know that the diabetes complications are very severe and they are life threatening, and their quality of life also goes down very much if they don't have good control of their blood sugars," said Good Samaritan Hospital's Connie Kulwicki.
   This is the sixth year the hospital has held its diabetes fair.