Four years ago, Wendy Hansuk's diabetes was out of control.

The 59-year-old resident of Viking was stressed out, overweight and overworked and felt her health slipping away, but she had no idea what to do about it.

"I was feeling terrible all the time, but I didn't relate it to the diabetes," she said. "My hours of work were irregular, my eating was atrocious. I didn't realize what I was doing to my body."

Hansuk's doctor knew her patient needed an intervention, so she referred Hansuk to the SMILE program, an initiative of the Leduc-Beaumont-Devon Primary Care Network (LBD-PCN). SMILE, which stands for Self Manage to Improve your Life Everyday, connects diabetes patients to a range of different health practitioners, who help them understand and manage the relationship between the disease and their lifestyle.

For Hansuk, the program was a turning point. A social worker helped Hansuk to identify stressors in her life that were affecting her health and deal with the emotional impact of living with diabetes, a dietician helped her develop a meal plan that would make it easier to manage her blood sugar, and a physiotherapist worked with her to devise an exercise plan that she could fit in around her irregular work hours.

Hansuk said the program has helped her look beyond her diagnosis and see herself as a whole person.

"It's been an enormous change in how I look at myself, how I feel," she said. "I've learned how to handle stress, I've learned how to eat and structure my time. I'm not perfect by a long shot, but I know I have the knowledge."

The SMILE program is just one of the ways the LBD-PCN is helping area residents put more emphasis on wellness and access a complete range of care.