Health Improvement and Diabetes Prevention
At a meeting in December 2005, the Delta Regional Authority board voted to devote almost $1 million to begin a diabetes education and prevention program. The leadership of the DRA understands how important a region's health care is to its economy. That's why the authority wants to be a catalyst for change across the region.
Known as the Healthy Delta program, this effort will attempt to bring about real change, starting with diabetes. Accountability measures are built into the effort so results can be measured. The diabetes program is designed to drive Delta residents to a call center and website so results can be tracked. The major goals of the effort are:
- Educating Delta residents on the symptoms and dangers of diabetes.
- Getting people in the Delta region to do something about their diabetes by calling a toll-free number for more information and a referral.
Using the Healthy Delta banner, the DRA hopes to later pursue broader health and wellness issues in the region. A special effort is being made to ensure the message does not miss hard-to-reach minority populations in the eight states served.
As many as two-thirds of the people with diabetes in this country don't even know they have the disease. Each day in the United States, 4,100 people are diagnosed with diabetes. An estimated 55 people go blind each day due to the disease, and there are an average of 230 amputations per day. The cost to the country of diabetes is more than $130 billion per year. The DRA is committed to raising awareness of diabetes and its causes and then driving at-risk residents into existing systems for treatment.
"To improve the economy of our region, we must first improve the health of our workforce," says Pete Johnson, the federal co-chairman of the DRA.