Novo Nordisk Supports Four San Francisco-based Organizations In Fight Against Diabetes

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care, announced today that it has awarded $80,000 in sponsorships to four San Francisco community organizations. The San Francisco sponsorships are part of the nationwide Novo Nordisk Community Care initiative to help rally communities to address the diabetes crisis and support local programs designed to make an impact for people living with type 2 diabetes. According to data commissioned by Novo Nordisk from the Institute of Alternative Futures, as of 2010, San Francisco had more than 433,000 people with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes and an additional 1.1 million people in danger of developing diabetes.

Novo Nordisk convened two community leaders to help evaluate the many innovative programs that were presented for sponsorship – Marlene Bedrich, RNC, MS, CDE at the Diabetes Teaching Center at UCSF and Jeffrey Manese, Physician Assistant at the Kapla Medical Group. Programs that received funding were considered to be the most creative, impactful, and meaningful for the community and took an innovative approach to addressing type 2 diabetes.     

"We know from research that type 2 diabetes has far-reaching impact in San Francisco and that local organizations play a critical role in addressing the problem through programs that understand the local population," said Bedrich. "By providing support to incubate innovative programs on a local level, Novo Nordisk is providing an important resource to help address the diabetes epidemic in San Francisco."

Organizations that received sponsorships target a range of diverse communities in San Francisco and include:

• Dance Out Diabetes – They will expand their "Dance Out Diabetes Cash and Care for Wellness" program with new diabetes education workshops and dance offerings in San Francisco County communities.
• LIFT – Levantate – Through the sponsorship, their Adult Diabetes Management Project will offer diabetes education to multicultural populations and train community health advocates in Bay Area communities such as Marin City, Novato, the Canal area of San Rafael, San Francisco (Portola), Richmond, and San Leandro.
• Northern California Center for Well-Being – Their "Live Well Type 2 Diabetes Peer Mentor" program will train peer mentors to serve as health coaches and teach people living with diabetes how to properly manage the disease.
• North East Medical Services – NEMS will offer Stanford University Patient Education Center's "Diabetes Self Management Program" in various Chinese languages at its seven area clinics.

"Novo Nordisk is proud to partner with each of these San Francisco organizations for their innovative approach to diabetes education in their local community," said Lori Moore, Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Novo Nordisk. "It is our hope that through Community Care, Novo Nordisk can help local organizations around the country develop impactful programs that will have a lasting effect on the epidemic of type 2 diabetes."

In 2011, Novo Nordisk Community Care sponsored more than 20 diverse community-based programs and awarded $415,000 to organizations in Atlanta, Minneapolis, Boston, and Philadelphia. In addition to San Francisco, in 2012, Novo Nordisk is offering new sponsorship opportunities to eligible organizations in the Houston, Detroit, and Milwaukee/Madison metropolitan areas where diabetes is a heavy burden on the community. In these areas, the Novo Nordisk Community Care initiative aims to activate and enable organizations that are ambassadors for change in diabetes care and are making an impact in their local communities. For more information about Novo Nordisk Community Care, visit www.novonordisk-us.com/communitycare.

About Novo Nordisk
Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with 89 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within hemophilia care, growth hormone therapy, and hormone replacement therapy. For more information, visit novonordisk-us.com.

SOURCE Novo Nordisk