Local health officials recently joined together to form a
diabetes and obesity coalition in an attempt to combat an epidemic
they say is increasing at an alarming rate in San Benito County and
the nation.
San Benito County – Local health officials recently joined together to form a diabetes and obesity coalition in an attempt to combat an epidemic they say is increasing at an alarming rate in San Benito County and the nation.
The San Benito County Diabetes Collaborative formed in July and is made up of local physicians, Hazel Hawkins Hospital employees, the Hollister School District and the county Health and Human Services Agency, among others.
In a little over a month’s time, coordinators procured $124,000 in funding from the Health Trust, a public benefit corporation out of Santa Clara County, and the California Endowment, a private statewide health foundation, said co-director Leah Dowty, director of the Hazel Hawkins Hospital Foundation. Muree Reafs, director of nursing at the county public health division, is also a co-director.
“(Muree and I) put our heads together and bulldozed through, which is really unusual,” Dowty said. “It usually takes six months to get funding.”
Dowty said Hazel Hawkins matched the organizations’ donations with $50,000.
The money will be used to develop prevention, treatment and management programs within the county to address diabetes and obesity, Dowty said.
After an assessment of how to better address the problem is complete, the collaborative will work on implementing their ideas, Dowty said.
“We’re interested in building bike trails, doing education programs,” Dowty said. “Something that really changes the environment where people live to make it easier to prevent them from getting diabetes or being overweight.”
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in California. Obesity is one of the leading causes for diabetes, which is why the collaborative’s mission is duel-pronged to address both, Dowty said.
There are over 3,000 known diabetics living in the county, but for every diagnosed diabetic there are one or two who are undiagnosed, Dowty said.
Representatives from approximately 12 local organizations that deal with people suffering from diabetes were ready and willing to join together to try to alleviate the problem, Reafs said in a written statement.
“The enormity of the problem in our region and the lack of resources available are overwhelming,” she said in the statement.
Dowty hopes to create a plan of action for the collaborative to take within seven to eight months, she said. After a year is up and the money they’ve received so far is gone, she said they will look for grants and more funding to keep the program going.
“Out of the planning process will come… community awareness and even legislative action,” Reafs said in a written statement. “But equally important is the fact that all these organizations are working together toward one common goal – a healthy San Benito County.”
Facts about diabetes and obesity in San Benito County:
Overweight, obesity, insufficient physical activity and high blood pressure are much more common in persons with diabetes. San Benito County ranks worst of all counties in California for the number of overweight and obese children 20 or younger.
San Benito County ranks 20th among California counties for deaths due to diabetes.
An estimated 2 to 5 percent of pregnant women have gestational diabetes nationally, or between 20 to 50 in San Benito County each year.
Approximately 30 youth in San Benito County have diabetes.
Diabetes is the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney failure and non-traumatic amputation of the lower limbs.
Source: the Hazel Hawkins Hospital Foundation.
