The Power to Control Diabetes Is in Your Hands Community Outreach Kit

Tools to Implement Promotional Activities

Sample Press Release

[Your Organization/Company Logo]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: [Date]                       Contact: [Name, Phone Number, Email]

[Company Name] Joins National Program to Help Older Adults Manage Their Diabetes
More than [number] [state] older adults have diabetes

[City, State] — [Organization/company name] announced today that it has joined a nationwide effort to help older adults with diabetes learn how to manage their disease. More than 12 million adults over the age of 60 have diabetes nationwide, millions more have yet to be diagnosed, and thousands of new cases are reported each year. The number of Americans with diabetes is expected to double by 2050.

The campaign, called The Power to Control Diabetes Is in Your Hands, stresses the importance of managing diabetes and preventing complications from the disease among older adults. Testing and controlling blood glucose (blood sugar) levels is one of the most critical components of diabetes self-management. A comprehensive approach also includes managing blood pressure and cholesterol, taking prescribed medications, and making healthy lifestyle choices such as following a healthy eating plan and engaging in regular physical activity.

The campaign also includes information on benefits for Medicare patients that can help pay for diabetes supplies and services. Diabetes self-management training teaches people with diabetes how to manage their blood glucose, make appropriate food choices, be physically active, and prevent and treat complications. Medical nutrition therapy services, in which a registered dietitian or other nutrition professional reviews personal eating habits, gives tips on how to make healthy food choices, explains how to manage lifestyle factors that affect food choices, and checks progress with follow-up visits. Each of the two benefits must be prescribed by a physician.

The Power to Control education campaign, aimed at those age 60 and older with diabetes and their families and caregivers, provides information and messages using articles in publications, web resources, and community events from the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) —a joint program of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Providing additional information are the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Administration on Aging, both of which lead a nationwide network of state and area agencies that provide essential services to older adults and their caregivers.

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[Company Name] Joins National Program – Page 2 of 2

“Older adults, many of whom are on fixed incomes, can find the cost of supplies and services needed to manage their diabetes overwhelming,” said [spokesperson]. “Through the National Diabetes Education Program’s Power to Control campaign, we can effectively teach older adults with diabetes how to manage their disease and how to improve the quality of their life.”

For more information about the Power to Control campaign, please contact [name] at [phone number] or [email address]. To learn more about the National Diabetes Education Program, visit www.YourDiabetesInfo.org or call 1-888-693-NDEP (6337).

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