More than 1.7 million New York State residents have diabetes—more people than could fill Yankees Stadium 30 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 disease affects racial and ethnic minorities more than others. In New York City, 13.8% of Hispanics, 11.3% of blacks, and 10.1% of Asians have diabetes, compared with 6.2% of whites. In the State, diabetes-related end-stage renal disease is highest among non-Hispanic blacks, underscoring disparities in access to effective prevention and management. Diabetes also contributes substantially to rising health care costs. The total cost of diabetes for New York in 2006 was estimated at $12.9 billion, including excess medical costs attributed to diabetes of $8.7 billion and lost productivity valued at $4.2 billion. NYSHealth is committed to reversing the diabetes epidemic by improving clinical care; mobilizing communities to identify, prevent, and manage diabetes; 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.

Click here for Foundation Goals and Key Initiatives for Improving Health Care for People with Diabetes.

Click here to visit the NYSHealth Diabetes Resource Center.

Features

The Medicare Screening Project (MDSP) Announces $2,500 Grassroots Awards Available to Promote Diabetes Screening

The MDSP is currently accepting applications for a grant designed to promote diabetes screening for seniors. Twenty awards of up to $2,500 will be offered in 2010 to local organizations that can demonstrate how they can implement grassroots programs to promote the free diabetes screening benefit in Medicare. Application deadline is August 17, 2010. Please click here to apply.

Montefiore Makes Strides in Diabetes Care

Please click here to learn about an NYSHealth-funded program Montefiore Medical Center created to provide its physicians with incentive bonuses for meeting benchmarks around blood sugar and LDL cholesterol levels in a cohort of 3,500 people with diabetes.

President and CEO James R. Knickman Submits Testimony to the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Health

Please click here to read the full testimony.

NYSHealth's New York State Diabetes Campaign Launches "Half the Care" Initiative

With 1.8 million New Yorkers suffering from diabetes and up to 4.2 million at risk for developing the disease, NYSHealth's New York State Diabetes Campaign is supporting a statewide marketing initiative urging physicians to provide more comprehensive care to their patients with diabetes. Please click here to learn more about the "Half the Care" initiative and to view the initiative's Web site.