The Health Trust has awarded a $60,000 Health Partnership Grant
to the Diabetes Coalition of Santa Clara County.
The Health Trust has awarded a $60,000 Health Partnership Grant to the Diabetes Coalition of Santa Clara County.
The grant supports the hiring of an expert facilitator who will lead the Coalition in the process of developing and executing a long-term strategy for prevention and control of diabetes. An estimated 96,000 people are living with diabetes countywide, and the disease strikes approximately 17 million adults and children nationally. Diabetes is a disabling, chronic disease that impairs the body’s ability to properly produce and use insulin, which is needed to convert food into energy.
“Given the huge burden that diabetes places on Santa Clara County’s residents, health care system and employers it is important that we work collaboratively with the health care systems to better address this issue,” said Nancy Shemick, the new facilitator for the Coalition.
The grant recognizes The Health Trust commitment to improving the health of Santa Clara County’s underserved residents, who are diabetic in exceptionally disproportionate numbers. More than 25 percent of African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans over the age of 45 have diabetes in Santa Clara County.
Diabetes is 250 percent more common among Mexican-Americans than any other ethnic group.
