04/10/2013 (press release: IFL) // New York, New York, US // Curtis Taylor | (917) 502-8381 | curtismedia@gmail.com
The Institute For Leadership and the powerful Business and Labor Coalition of New York (BALCONY) jointly launched a program aimed at reducing healthcare costs and promoting early diabetes prevention in the workplace.
The new Labor Fights Diabetes Program initiative will be implemented through businesses, labor unions and community organizations in New York State using the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) model endorsed by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), officials said.
New York State spends nearly $13 billion annually on diabetes-related costs with 1.3 million people living with the disease, according to state health statistics. An estimated 4.2 million New Yorkers, or about 20 percent of the state’s population are pre-diabetic.
The joint announcement between BALCONY (http://www.balconynewyork.com) and the IFL (http://www.institute4leadership.com) comes as the American Diabetes Association (ADA) released a new study showing that national diagnosed diabetes costs have increased to $245 billion in 2012 from $174 billion in 2007 when the statistics were last examined.
“Diabetes is a silent killer,” said the Rev. Michel Faulkner, president of the IFL, which operates a statewide faith-based diabetes consortium and proven outreach model that has engaged more than 875,000 people from 4,123 congregations. “It makes sense to promote early diabetes prevention in the workplace to help reduce the high costs of treating this disease.”
Lou Gordon, director of the New York State business and labor advocacy organization with more than 1,000 members, said: “Escalating employee medical costs are a number one concern among many of our union and healthcare members.”
Affiliated organizations involved in the effort include: The New York State United Teachers, The United Federation of Teachers, the Labor Health Care Alliance, the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, the Pharmacists Society of New York, CWA Local 1180, Humana, CDPHP, UnitedHealthcare and others.
Nationally, nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes and an estimated 79 million adults are pre-diabetic and don’t know it, officials said. Undiagnosed diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart failure and strokes.
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Contact:
Curtis Taylor | (917) 502-8381 | curtismedia@gmail.com
Nick Moroni | (212) 219-7777 | nick.moroni@balconynewyork.com
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