The Wisconsin Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP), a program of the Department of Health and Family Services and partner of the Milwaukee Area Health Education Center, will host free corporate breakfast meetings in five communities across the state.
The meetings, which will include a healthy breakfast buffet provided by Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Inc., will showcase the www.DiabetesAtWork.org Web site to Wisconsin’s business community. The conference will take place at the Waukesha area on Thursday, March 15, at Country Springs Hotel Conference Center, 2810 Golf Road, in Pewaukee.
Other stops in the tour will include Janesville, Green Bay, Stevens Point and La Crosse.
For an invitation and registration information, contact event coordinator Pam Geis at pam.geis@sbcglobal.net or (262) 677-0555. Seating is limited. Registration is due by March 2.
DiabetesAtWork.org is a Website developed by the National Diabetes Education Program (a partnership of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 200 public and private organizations). The free online corporate wellness resource kit helps businesses assess the impact of diabetes on their company. It also provides information for companies to help their employees manage their diabetes and take steps toward reducing the risk for diabetes-related complications.
Better diabetes control can help lower the risk of serious, costly complications.
The meetings are sponsored by the Wisconsin Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP) and the National Diabetes Education Program. The DPCP is dedicated to improving the health of people with or at risk for developing diabetes.
Meanwhile, the Business Health Care Group (BHCG) has received a $25,000 grant from NOVO Nordisk to increase the number of area physicians recognized in diabetic care and management by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). The grant will allow the BHCG to assist member physicians in its high performance network in achieving recognition for delivering care according to evidence-based medical guidelines. BHCG partners with Humana to offer a preferred provider network to the organization’s more than 360 member companies.
“This is a needed step toward insuring an adequate number of physicians who can provide quality care for the region’s diabetic patients,” said Dianne Kiehl, executive director of the Business Health Care Group. “When chronic diseases are managed properly, it positively impacts the patients’ quality of life while also reducing overall health care costs.”
The grant was awarded in conjunction with the NCQA/American Diabetes Association’s Physician Recognition Program (DPRP). Physicians earn recognition by demonstrating high quality care for diabetic patients based on the NCQA’s nationally supported, comprehensive diabetes care measures.
According to Sandra Turriff, who is contracting with the BHCG to administer the grant, “We know there are a lot of physicians out there providing high quality care to their patients. Because of time and money constraints, however, they may be unable to apply for recognition. Consumers don’t know who they are. With this grant, we have the potential to offer assistance to more physicians to apply for recognition, while also offering consumer information that diabetic patients can use when selecting health care providers.”
The Business Health Care Group is a membership organization of more than 360 employers and employer groups in the 11-county region of southeastern Wisconsin. BHCG and its members share the common goals of moving the health care market through innovative action and partnering for effective change. Visit www.bhcgsw.org to learn more.
