Photo taken from the NY Post
Senator Shirley Huntley and Assemblywoman Vivian Cook have announced that their offices have begun working with Community Wellness Centers of America, LLC (CWCOA) to provide Diabetes evidence-based healthcare services in Southeast Queens.
The Huntley/ Cook /CWCOA healthcare initiative will provide a full spectrum of integrated services and programs that specifically addresses diabetes by establishing several community diabetes education/clinical outreach locations in affiliation with a national recognized diabetes organization.
The 2006 National Healthcare Disparities Report particularly notes that for most core quality measures, Blacks (73%), Hispanics (77%), and the poor (71%) received worse quality care than other reference groups, with increasing disparities especially prevalent in chronic disease management.
As Senator Huntley stated “improving the health of all people cannot be realized without addressing healthcare disparities. We must bring healthcare access and treatment to an even plain. This project will address diabetes and other related diseases head on. Our goal is to educate the community and make sure we give the people top notch medical care.”
Dr. Robert Evans, CEO/President of CWCOA stated that “diabetes is a group of diseases marked by high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in insulin production, insulin action, or both. Diabetes can lead to serious complications and premature death, but people with diabetes, working together with their support network and their health care providers, can take steps to control the disease and lower the risk of complications”.
Dr. Evans also stated that in a national survey conducted by CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) from 2007 thru 2009, data for people aged 20 years or older, indicated that 12.6% of non-Hispanic blacks had diagnosed diabetes, greater than any minority population, and overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people of similar age but without diabetes. National data indicates that medical expenses for people with diabetes are more than two times higher than for people without diabetes.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, nontraumatic lower limb amputations, and new cases of blindness among adults in the United States. Diabetes is a major cause of heart disease, stroke and one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Diet, insulin, oral medication and patient education are the foundation of diabetes treatment and management.
This diabetes program will provide a comprehensive integrated continuum of care system whereby services are easily accessible, eliminates health disparities, and increases the quality of health to its residents especially for African Americans and other minority populations.
The Huntley/ Cook/CWCOA diabetes initiative will allow physicians to be invested in continually improving diabetes quality and efficiency of care delivered by the community’s network of facilities, supported by CWCOA Healthcare Information Technologies.
Assemblywoman Cook noted that “African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos minorities continue to have higher rates of disease, disability, infant mortality, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV infection/AIDS, cancer, and lower rates of immunizations and cancer screening.”
She further states these rates of disease are unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our community. Excellence in Healthcare is a priority and all people regardless of race or financial need should have access to healthcare centers of excellence.
Minorities continue to experience lower health status when measured against other groups and the population as a whole. Without the careful integration of a comprehensive healthcare initiative in Jamaica and the Borough of Queens addressing these disparities, the health status of the Jamaica community will continue to suffer, and the cost to the State of New York will continue to spiral out of control.
Jamaica and the Borough of Queens will yield savings in health care and Medicare and Medicaid budgets and produce a healthier, more informed population of residents.
New York State Department of Health, Office of Minority Health has reported that New York State is experiencing an epidemic of diabetes, and the disease is most common among ethnic minorities.
In 2004, Black non-Hispanics (38.5 per100,000) continued to experience diabetes death rates more than one and one half times greater than Hispanics (23 per 100,000), two and one half times more than White non-Hispanics (15.7 per 100,000) and more than three times higher than Asian/Pacific Islander non- Hispanics (12.4 per 100,000);
Of the four race/ethnic groups, Black non-Hispanics (289 per 100,000) continue to experience the highest mortality rate and Asian non-Hispanics (142 per 100,000) have the mortality rate due to heart disease;
In 2004, Black non-Hispanic infant mortality (11.1 per 1,000 births) was more than double the rate among Hispanic (4.5 per 1,000 births) and White non-Hispanic (4.6 per 1,000 births) infants and triple the rate among Asian/Pacific Islander non-Hispanic (3.4 per 1,000 births) infants.
The State of New York Minority Health Surveillance Report dated September 2007 states that among Black non-Hispanic New Yorkers surveyed, 12.3% said they had been diagnosed with diabetes. The Black non-Hispanic rate was significantly higher than the rate for White non-Hispanic (6.5%), Asian non-Hispanic (7.1%) and Hispanic (7.5%) New Yorkers
Queens’s residents are slightly more likely than New York State residents overall to experience a preventable hospitalization for a condition related to diabetes. Hospitalizations for uncontrolled diabetes and short-term complications of diabetes are well above statewide norms.
African Americans suffer disproportionately compared to other groups on a variety of health indicators, with the worst ranking on 27 of 49 health indicators, and have the highest age-adjusted rates of diabetes mortality.