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$5 million for new rural Alberta diabetes management project
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Edmonton, July 3, 2008 - The Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes (ACHORD) will receive $5 million over the next five years from Alberta Health and Wellness for a new collaborative outreach project to support diabetes care and management in rural Alberta.
Dr. Jeff Johnson, Alberta Caring for Diabetes (ABCD) Project leader.
Funding for the Alberta Caring for Diabetes (ABCD) project will be administered by the Institute of Health Economics (IHE).
"Our ongoing funding for this project will help support primary care providers in rural regions of Alberta where more support is needed," said Ron Liepert, Minister of Health and Wellness. "This project will improve care for people with diabetes and chronic disease, and improve outcomes for our health care system."
"People with diabetes are at increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure, which has a personal burden, as well as a burden on our health care system," said ABCD project leader Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, who is a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. "This project will focus on serving the non-metro or rural health regions, where access to services may be more limited for people living with diabetes."
"This new support for Dr. Johnson and the ACHORD team will strengthen our ability to have an impact on chronic disease," said IHE's Executive Director and CEO Dr. Egon Jonsson.
As part of the ABCD project specialist teams of physicians, nurses, pharmacists and dieticians will travel to rural regions to counsel local health professionals on ways to improve quality of care for diabetes.
ACHORD will provide support for chronic disease management through partnerships with health regions, primary care networks, and other existing community resources.
Key facts on diabetes in Alberta:
- Over 150,000 Albertans are living with diabetes. More than 15,000 new cases of diabetes are identified each year in Alberta.
- People with diabetes use health care services up to three times more than people without diabetes and are two times more likely to die than people without diabetes.
- People with diabetes are more likely to have heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, eye disease and mental health disorders than people without diabetes.
For more information about ACHORD visit www.achord.ca. For more information about IHE visit www.ihe.ca.
For More Information Contact :
Stephanie Vermeulen
Project Manager
Alberta Diabetes Surveillance System
(780) 492-5296
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