05/02/2013 (press release: IFL) // New York, New York, US // Curtis Taylor
Institute For Leadership announced that the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors will serve as co-sponsors for the New York Diabetes Summit featuring prominent leaders in health, labor, not-for-profit and faith-based organizations looking to control soaring diabetes healthcare costs and stem the epidemic of type 2 diabetes among high-risk populations.
“We are pleased to announce that the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors is in full support of the New York Diabetes Summit in its efforts to reduce the disproportionately high rate of diabetes in the State of New York and throughout the U.S.,” said the Rev. Michel Faulkner, founder of the IFL, which operates a statewide faith-based diabetes consortium.
Chronic diseases affect more than 80 percent of Americans, according to the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, an organization that provides technical assistance and support to more than 3,000 specialized chronic disease practitioners working in public health departments across all 50 States and U.S. Jurisdictions.
“Type 2 diabetes is a serious problem across our nation,” said John Robitscher, CEO of the NACDD. “We welcome the chance to partner with IFL and bring an effective program to prevent type 2 diabetes. The Institute for Leadership has a track record of effectively delivering interventions to people who have diabetes where they worship, work and play.”
The New York Diabetes Summit will take place on May 16th in Manhattan and will be co-hosted by the IFL and the Business and Labor Coalition of New York (BALCONY), officials said.
The IFL/BALCONY Labor Fights Diabetes program works to reduce diabetes-related healthcare costs by helping unions and businesses implement type 2 diabetes prevention programs, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) led National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), officials said.
The announcement comes as a recent report from the American Diabetes Association showed that national diabetes costs have increased from $174 billion in 2007 to $345 billion in 2012 when the statistics were last examined. (http://www.diabetes.org/for-media/2013/annual-costs-of-diabetes-2013.html
All three organizations are collaborating with the CDC as they lead national efforts to scale and sustain the Diabetes Prevention Program, an evidence-based, group class approach for people at high risk for type 2 diabetes.
The Diabetes Prevention Program has an overall success rate of nearly 60% in preventing type 2 diabetes with 70% success in people over age 65. Together, the IFL, BALCONY and NACDD work with unions, businesses and faith-based institutions to offer this prevention program to high-risk people across New York State.
Lou Gordon, director of BALCONY, said: “We look forward to working with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors to find viable solutions on how we can reduce the high costs of diabetes treatment which remains a serious concern for labor, health care advocates and our members.” BALCONY is comprised of more than 1,000 members, most of which have at-risk persons in their organizations.
New York State spends $12.9 billion annually on diabetes-related costs and has 1.3 million people living with the disease, according to state health statistics.
Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes. The CDC estimates that 79 million have pre-diabetes, a condition of elevated blood sugar that often leads to type 2 diabetes within a few years. Less than 10% are aware of their risk, federal officials report. Additionally, undiagnosed diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, amputation, heart disease and strokes.
The Institute For Leadership is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community-based organization founded in 2003 on the principle of creating leaders and building community capacity to address health, financial and social problems that affect high-risk communities. For more information, visit: www.institute4leadership.com.
BALCONY is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that seeks to find common ground between organized labor and business throughout New York State by playing a key role in important public policy debates. For more information, visit: www.balconynewyork.com.
The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public health association serving US State and Jurisdictional health department staff in public health strategies to address chronic disease prevention and control. For more information, visit: www.chronicdisease.com
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