New York’s Institute for Family Health to lead initiative with the Foundation.

(NEW YORK): The New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) today unveiled a landmark $35 million campaign to reverse the growing diabetes epidemic in New York State. The 1.5 million New York State residents with diabetes could fill Yankees Stadium 27 times. The number of New Yorkers with diabetes has more than doubled in the last decade, and diabetes is the only chronic disease that continues to grow in prevalence.

The NYSHealth Diabetes Campaign will focus on three areas:

• improving the quality of primary care for people who have diabetes;

• mobilizing community assets to help prevent and manage diabetes and working with community leaders to identify people with diabetes who are unaware that they are affected; and

• promoting policies to sustain a comprehensive, coordinated care system for patients with diabetes and to enable communities to promote prevention strategies, such as making nutritious foods and recreation spaces more available.

“New York’s diabetes epidemic is fast approaching the point of no return,” said James R. Knickman, President and CEO of the New York State Health Foundation. “It is essential that we change the way diabetes is addressed right now, which is why NYSHealth is launching a comprehensive, statewide Campaign to reverse this epidemic.”

While the diabetes epidemic is a statewide problem, a recent New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene study found that more than 73,000 city residents alone were newly diagnosed with diabetes between 2002 and 2004. The authors of the study reported that the city’s rates of diagnosed diabetes increased by 17% during the two-year study.

“Diabetes is out of control in New York and requires an immediate and full-scale response,” said Dr. Neil S. Calman, the President and CEO of the Institute for Family Health and leader of the Foundation’s Diabetes Campaign. “This is especially crucial for the African-American, Latino, Native American, and South Asian populations in which diabetes has already reached disastrous proportions, and preventable diabetes-related disability and death are rampant. Linking people to state-of-the-art primary care will be a major focus of our efforts.”

“The Institute is thrilled to partner with the New York State Health Foundation to lead this Campaign,” said Dr. Calman. “For the last seven years, we have worked with the Bronx REACH coalition as a community movement to make health equality a reality. The Foundation’s Diabetes Campaign gives us an amazing opportunity to effect statewide change similar to what we have seen in the Bronx community.”

“In order to eliminate the diabetes epidemic in our State, we need to ensure that communities, health care providers, and payers are doing everything they can to prevent and manage this disease,” said New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D. “This administration remains committed to doing its part to solve this health crisis. In addition to our work in communities to create healthful environments, our administration is doubling its efforts to improve primary care, pay for diabetes health educators, and help individuals with diabetes best manage their condition to avoid preventable suffering, disease and premature death.”

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NYSHealth, whose mission is to expand health insurance coverage, increase access to high-quality health care services, and improve public and community health was established by the State of New York with charitable funds from the privatization of Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

The Institute for Family Health provides high-quality health care to underserved populations; sponsors innovative training programs for health professionals; engages in primary care health services research; and participates in health policy development at the national, state, and local levels. The organization is committed to eliminating disparities in health outcomes, and using health information technology to improve public health.