BOSTON, Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading diabetes healthcare company Novo Nordisk announced today that it has awarded $150,000 in sponsorships to seven Greater Boston community organizations to support programs that educate people living with type 2 diabetes to help them reduce their risks for long term complications. The Boston sponsorships are part of the nationwide Novo Nordisk Community Care program a new and innovative initiative that aims to promote enduring, sustainable change for people living with diabetes.
Proposals were reviewed and recommendations made by a local panel comprised of Mike Sheehan, CEO of Hill Holiday, Timothy J. Garvin, President of the United Way of Central Massachusetts and Susan Servais, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Health Council. The organizations were honored at an October 5th Town Hall event where Boston area business leaders, public officials, and non-profit organizations gathered to recognize the awardees and learn more about the impact of diabetes at both the local and national level.
“Through partnerships like Community Care, organizations are provided with the critical funding and support needed to reach the populations that are most affected by the disease and improve the management of diabetes in Boston,” said Susan Servais, Executive Director of the Mass Health Council. “I want to congratulate these organizations dedicated to making real change and thank Novo Nordisk for helping make it happen.”
Organizations target a range of diverse communities in Boston and include:
- Mattapan Community Health Center: to advance the work of the organization’s Diabetes WeCare program by providing additional support to patients with a1C of 9.0 or higher and also use Community Health Advocates (CHAs) to conduct home visits and provide counseling, social services referrals, nutrition guidance and peer support.
- The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship: to create “Diabetes Connection” a program that intends to educate Boston residents living in communities with high type 2 diabetes prevalence.
- Community Servings Inc.: to expand the nutrition education program by implementing “Eating for Health” which will include classes on meal-planning, shopping on a budget, portion control, and healthy cooking techniques.
- The Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston (BMA): to work through the organization’s network of churches to teach about and learn how to cook healthy foods. The program will include 5 workshops and cooking demos and is expected to reach 250 people.
- Center for Community Health, Education & Research, Inc. (CCHER): A health and social services agency serving largely immigrants and ethnic minorities, will partner with other organizations to implement multi-level interventions including: group training activities, creating a peer support group, increasing access to care and adherence to medication and development for those living with type 2 diabetes.
- ADA New England: to create The Video Project, which will convert three existing culturally competent type 2 diabetes modules targeting African Americans and Latinos into video to provide education to people living in remote areas. The videos will be used in HCP waiting rooms and in churches and will be in English and Spanish by December 2011 and Haitian, Creole, Cape Verdean and Portuguese by July 2012. The videos are expected to reach 750 participants.
- Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center (RIAC), African Initiative for Men’s Health (AIMH): to introduce a two phase project aiming to provide education and support, affect behavior change, drive weight loss and reduce complications associated with diabetes.
- Body by Brandy 4 Kidz: program is designed to reduce health risks of children with type 2 diabetes by partnering with 3 community health centers to administer “exercise prescription” to join BBB 4 Kidz Family Wellness Program. Participants receive 2 personal trainer consultations, 10 classes, and 3-day/week group exercise classes.
- Massachusetts Diabetes Education Program (MDEP) Coalition Communications Program: A comprehensive communications program to educate patients, families, and org members about how each of the coalition specialties pharmacists, podiatrists, optometrists, and dentists (PPOD) can help patients avoid serious complications.
“Novo Nordisk is proud to support each of these programs for their innovative approach to working within the community to achieve results. Individually they will have an impact on specific communities. Collectively there is tremendous potential to help stem the tide of type 2 diabetes throughout Boston,” said Lori Moore, Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Novo Nordisk. “Community Care is one way for Novo Nordisk to provide resources to local organizations that can impact how patients manage their disease. We very much look forward to seeing the programs roll out and make a difference in the communities they serve.”
Novo Nordisk will work with each group to create and promote programs that use a variety of hands-on education and intervention techniques to reach diabetes patients in Boston. According to a recent study commissioned by Novo Nordisk and conducted by the Institute for Alternative Futures, in 2010, more than 550,000 Massachusetts residents (8.4%) had diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes. Diabetes also takes a severe economic toll on Massachusetts resulting in more than $5 billion* in 2010 in health care and lost productivity. Further, forecasts project that by 2025, 895,000 Massachusetts residents will have diabetes at a total cost of $8.8 billion.*
In 2011, Community Care sponsorships have already been awarded in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Minneapolis in efforts to inspire similar grassroots education programs. For more information about Novo Nordisk Community Care and to find local event listings and resources for people living with diabetes, go to NovoNordiskCommunityCare.com.
About Novo Nordisk
Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 88 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within hemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. For more information, visit novonordisk-us.com.
*Cost is in 2010 dollars and includes diagnosed, undiagnosed, and prediabetes.
SOURCE Novo Nordisk
