Ventura, CA - Diabetes, a common disease that causes long-term damage to the body, will be the focus of a free seminar when Community Memorial Health System opens its 2015 Educational Seminars series on Tuesday, Jan 27.

Debra Ouyang, M.D. who specializes in endocrinology, will lead the discussion during the seminar to be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the eighth-floor Nichols Auditorium at Community Memorial Hospital, located at 147 N. Brent St.

Diabetes affects an estimated one out of 10 Americans, and those numbers are rapidly increasing. Dr. Ouyang will discuss what causes diabetes, what people can do to prevent it and, if they already have the disease, what they can do to improve their health.

Dr. Ouyang received her medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School and completed her residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical/West Los Angeles Veterans Administration program. Dr. Ouyang is a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Thyroid Association and the Endocrine Society.

Registration is free but reservations are required. Please visit cmhshealth.org/rsvp or call Brown Paper Ticket at 1-800/838-3006.

Future scheduled educational seminars include: Hyperbaric Oxygen and Wound Care on Feb. 24; Joint Pain and Arthritis on Feb. 28 in Ojai; Cosmetic Surgery on March 10; Neurological Diseases of Aging on April 21 in Oxnard, Update on Management of Brain Tumors on May 12; and Skin Cancer on June 16.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and 12 family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.