ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Diabetes Association today announced a $150,000 grant from Novo Nordisk to support ADA's efforts to fight discrimination against people with diabetes through the establishment of the ADA - Novo Nordisk Legal Advocacy Fellowship. The Fellow will provide assistance to people facing discrimination in the workplace, at school and child care centers, at correctional institutions, and in places of public accommodation. ADA receives about 300 requests for assistance each month, and the two-year fellowship will enable ADA to reach those who seek help in a timely and effective manner. The ADA - Novo-Nordisk Legal Advocacy Fellow will also work on ongoing major projects including ADA's Safe at School Campaign, which is sponsored in part by Novo Nordisk.
"Novo Nordisk is pleased and proud to support ADA's efforts to secure fair treatment for people living with diabetes," said Jim Shehan, the company's Vice President of Legal, Government & Quality Affairs. "Changing diabetes is Novo Nordisk's vision and passion. So it is not enough for us to just provide innovative insulin analogs and insulin delivery systems. We also work in various ways to be a catalyst for the changes necessary to successfully defeat the diabetes epidemic, and one important change is to end unnecessary discrimination against people with diabetes in schools, workplaces, and government institutions."
"Discrimination based on diabetes creates a barrier to effective diabetes management, whether in schools, at work, in correctional institutions, or in public settings," said Michael A. Greene, Chair of ADA's Diabetes Legal Advocacy Fund and former chair of its National Board of Directors. "We have come a long way in standing up to discrimination against individuals with diabetes. These successes have brought an increasing awareness of the legal rights of people with diabetes and the desire to fight for fairness. Bolstering our legal advocacy efforts through this Fellowship will greatly increase our ability to respond to the increasing volume of calls and cases, and will allow us to take advantage of the many opportunities to help prevent discrimination from occurring."
ADA already has successfully responded to diabetes-based discrimination in a number of significant ways in recent years. ADA's efforts include breaking down blanket bans in employment that say no one with diabetes need apply and replacing them with reasonable standards for individual assessment. Numerous employers have taken the position that people with diabetes cannot be safe and productive workers while also arguing that diabetes is so easily controlled that people with diabetes don't merit protection from discrimination under federal law. In December, Gary Branham won a six-year battle with the Internal Revenue Service involving these two arguments when a federal jury ruled he was unfairly turned down for a promotion to a law enforcement position because of his diabetes. John Griffin, Chair of ADA's Legal Advocacy Subcommittee, served as lead counsel in the case.
Additionally, ADA has: -- Won victories for students and their families ranging from developing individual school care plans for children who were not receiving adequate diabetes care at school to passage of state-wide diabetes school care legislation; -- Secured access to vital diabetes supplies at public places ranging from concerts to airplanes; -- Improved how police officers respond to people experiencing diabetes emergencies including developing training materials that are distributed nationally; and -- Developed educational resources, including nationwide training programs, for parent advocates, diabetes health care professionals, and attorneys.
ADA's legal advocacy program uses a four-step approach to fight discrimination: educate, negotiate, litigate, and legislate. ADA has developed educational materials, negotiated standards for fair treatment of people with diabetes, brought federal and state lawsuits and administrative actions, and changed unfair state and federal laws. The Fellow will utilize this four-step approach to provide information and resources to individuals facing discrimination and to collaborate with organizations and agencies around the country to develop strategies to combat discrimination based on diabetes.
The ADA - Novo-Nordisk Fellow will work at ADA's national office in Alexandria, VA. Further information about legal advocacy at ADA can be found at http://www.diabetes.org/discrimination. Those interested in applying for the fellowship should contact Shereen Arent, ADA's Managing Director of Legal Advocacy at sarent@diabetes.org.
Diabetes is one of this nation's most prevalent, debilitating, deadly and costly diseases, affecting almost 21 million children and adults in the United States. One in three Americans - and one in two minorities - born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime if current trends continue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About the American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is the nation's premier voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the Association has offices in every region of the country, providing services to hundreds of communities. Its mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. In addition to its legal advocacy efforts, ADA advocates for the increase of federal diabetes research and programs and for improving access to, and quality of, health care for people with diabetes. For more information, please visit http://www.diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.
About ADA's Safe at School Campaign
The American Diabetes Association launched its Safe at School campaign in 2004 to ensure that all students with diabetes are educated in a medically safe environment and have the same access to educational opportunities as their peers. The campaign utilizes a multi-pronged approach that is supported by the medical and scientific expertise of the Association and the energy and commitment of its top volunteer leaders and grassroots advocates. The campaign utilizes utilize education, negotiation, litigation, and legislative strategies and includes efforts to educate the public and the media about issues facing children with diabetes at school; improve the situation for students who do not have any school personnel trained to provide diabetes care; and counter opposition to the use of trained non-medical personnel to provide care to students with diabetes in the absence of a school nurse. Novo Nordisk is supporting a series of Safe At School program trainings for lay advocates and health professionals. The year-long series is set to begin in May at the ADA's 22nd Southern Regional Conference on Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease in ChampionsGate, Florida.
National Office Diabetes Information 1701 North Beauregard Street call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) Alexandria, VA 22311 online http://www.diabetes.org Tel: 703-549-1500 The Association gratefully accepts gifts through your will.
The Mission of the American Diabetes Association is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
American Diabetes AssociationCONTACT: Zach Goldberg of American Diabetes Association, +1-703-549-1500ext. 2622, or zgoldberg@diabetes.org
