e-Advocacy Newsletter

October 2009

CDE-MVP

By: Walter M. Bortz, II, MD

Some of the happiest and saddest moments of my full life are the days when I volunteer in one of the nearby community free clinics. This commitment gives me pleasure, as I may be filling an otherwise unfilled need. My down days trouble me by the content of my experiences.

A typical patient is a rotund thirty-five-year-old Hispanic mother with four overweight kids. She has come in for one purpose, and that is to receive free drug samples for her Type 2 diabetes. She even brings in a shopping bag in anticipation of filling it with outdated pills that happen to be in the supply closet.

MDEQ AND DIABETES FOUNDATION OF MISSISSIPPI ANNOUNCE HOUSEHOLD MEDICAL SHARPS INITIATIVE

(JACKSON, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi Wednesday announced a new initiative to more safely dispose of medical sharps or needles. The Household Medical Sharps Disposal Program includes the establishment of more than 90 voluntary community sharps collection stations, located primarily at retail pharmacies and at municipal fire stations, that will accept sharps collected by home users in puncture-proof, sealed containers. The sharps collected at these stations will then be picked up by waste disposal companies at no charge to the collection stations.

PLEDGE TO PROMOTE WORLD DIABETES DAY IN 3 WAYS

There are nearly 24 million people in the United States who have diabetes. Yet most people don't yet understand what living with diabetes is like, what the are the symptoms of diabetes and what can be done to prevent type 2 diabetes. Read More

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Contact Your Senators and House Member of Congress

Dear American Association of Diabetes Educators members, friends, partners and supporters,

Over the past few months you have received a number of messages from AADE asking that you to take action on issues by contacting your Senators and House Member of Congress. These messages may seem redundant but understand that every grassroots alert has a purpose and that is to address varying-relevant issues as they arise in both the House and Senate. Also, know that these messages will continue to change as the bills progress through the House and Senate.

ADVOCACY TIP OF THE MONTH: Navigate the Policy and Advocacy Web Pages!

AADE's Policy and Advocacy page offers a number of resources to help members and its supporters with their legislative efforts.

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