Nevada Diabetes Alert Day, March 27

Nevada Diabetes Council’s Southern Nevada members will attend Carson City events

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 27, 2007

LAS VEGAS – The Nevada Diabetes Council will be well represented at the 17th annual Diabetes Alert Day at the Nevada State Library and Archives to provide information and education to residents, lawmakers and health care professionals. Several representatives from Southern Nevada will attend the scheduled press conference and the planned events in Carson City to highlight the prevalence and costs of the disease in the state.

The Nevada Diabetes Council, founded in 1997, is a statewide partnership that seeks to improve the lives of those with diabetes and to reduce the occurrence of the disease in Nevada. In the past 10 years, the Nevada Diabetes Council has developed the Diabetes Collaborative which educates healthcare providers on best practices and provides tools to improve the quality of care; the development and distribution of materials including the Nevada Diabetes Resource Directory, Guidelines for Children with Diabetes in School, and the pocket health care reminder cards for people with the disease; as well as community diabetes screenings. The Council and its community partnerships also developed the Eye of the Eagle Project in collaboration with the Nevada State Diabetes Prevention and Control Program and the Nevada State Library System to improve nutrition and physical activity education programs for Native American and other minority at-risk populations.

In Nevada, the costs associated with diabetes health care and related treatment are estimated to be approximately $167 million annually according to the Nevada Interactive Database Hospital Discharge Information 2005. Approximately 10-15 percent of children and teens are overweight, which increases the number of children with Type 2 diabetes related to excess weight gain and a decrease in activity levels. High blood pressure rates for diabetic adults in Nevada are 68.5 percent, which is almost triple the rate of those who do not have the disease. Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of end-stage renal disease in Nevada, and in 2005, 7.1 percent of Nevadans reported that they had been diagnosed with diabetes.

For more information about diabetes, visit the Southern Nevada Health District’s website, www.gethealthyclarkcounty.org or the Nevada State Health Division site www.health.nv.gov.

Visit the Media Contacts webpage for media related inquiries.

The Southern Nevada Health District serves as the local public health authority for Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas. The agency safeguards the public health of the community’s residents and visitors through innovative programs, regulations, and initiatives focused on protecting and promoting their health and well-being. More information about the Health District, its programs, services, and the regulatory oversight it provides is available at www.SNHD.info. Follow the Health District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.