- UnitedHealth Group honored for its Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance
- The “Citizens” Awards honor excellence in corporate citizenship and civic leadership for initiatives in the United States and around the world
MINNETONKA, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) has received the 2011 Business Civic Leadership Center’s (BCLC) Corporate Citizenship Award for Best U.S. Business Neighbor. UnitedHealth Group was recognized for its companywide efforts to address the diabetes epidemic through an expanding portfolio of programs, including the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA).
“The definition of a good neighbor is someone who makes the neighborhood a better place,” said U.S. Chamber BCLC Founder and Executive Director Stephen Jordan. “The U.S. would be much further behind in addressing the diabetes epidemic if UnitedHealth Group had not set up the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance. The Best U.S. Business Neighbor is our way of saying thank you for this effort.”
“We are honored that the U.S. Chamber’s Business Civic Leadership Center has recognized our efforts to fight the diabetes epidemic and help millions of people improve their health and well-being,” said Deneen Vojta, M.D., executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group and chief clinical officer of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance. “We want to give credit to our partners in these efforts, including the YMCA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Walgreens, Albertson’s, Kroger and Rite-Aid. Working with best-in-class partners expands our reach and amplifies our efforts to stem the tide of this disease.”
Launched in 2010, the DPCA is bringing to national scale community-based programs clinically proven to help prevent and control diabetes. It is anchored by two programs: the Diabetes Prevention Program, offered through the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program, a group-based lifestyle intervention program that helps people who are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes prevent or delay the disease through modest weight loss promoted by healthy eating, increased physical activity and other lifestyle changes1; and the Diabetes Control Program, collaborating with retail pharmacies, designed to help people with diabetes better control their condition through education and support from specially trained local pharmacists.
“The Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance reflects UnitedHealth Group’s mission to help people live healthier lives,” said Kate Rubin, vice president of social responsibility for UnitedHealth Group. “By bringing together employers, health insurance carriers, local pharmacists and the Y, we are rapidly applying our national scale, one neighborhood at a time, to create a level of collaboration that will hopefully turn back this devastating epidemic.”
Diabetes and prediabetes affect 105 million people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and more than half of all Americans could develop these conditions by 2020, at a cost of $3.35 trillion over the next decade, according to the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform and Modernization. UnitedHealth Group is applying its resources and technological expertise to create an integrated diabetes prevention and management portfolio to help reverse this public health crisis.
UnitedHealth Group continues to look for ways to advance its diabetes initiatives by expanding the programs’ reach, engaging new partners to develop new care-delivery models, and further developing the programs through new ventures.
Follow UnitedHealth Group on Twitter @myUHC to learn more about diabetes prevention and control. More information about the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance is available at www.unitedhealthgroup/diabetes and www.NotMe.com/.
About the Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC)
BCLC is the U.S. Chamber's resource and voice for businesses' social and philanthropic interests. Its mission is to advance the positive role of business in society. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. Learn more about BCLC by visiting www.bclc.uschamber.com.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making health care work better. With headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. Through its businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 75 million people worldwide. Visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com for more information.
1 The YMCA and DPCA Diabetes Prevention Programs are part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-led National Diabetes Prevention Program, which is designed to bring evidence-based lifestyle interventions to communities by working with organizations and third-party payers who adhere to CDC-recognized, evidence-based standards.
CONTACT:
UnitedHealth Group
Lauren Mihajlov, 952-936-3068
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America Minnesota
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Practice Management Health Fitness & Nutrition Hospitals Professional Services Insurance Diabetes General Health Managed Care
MEDIA:
| Logo |