Institute for Family Health

Diabetes prevalence in New York State has doubled since 1994 and is expected to grow; 1.8 million New Yorkers suffer from diabetes and 4.2 million have prediabetes.

To address this crisis, the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) invested in a $35 million diabetes campaign with the goal of reversing the epidemic. The New York State Diabetes Campaign focuses on improving clinical care and patient outcomes; mobilizing communities to prevent diabetes and support diabetes self-management; and promoting policies that sustain comprehensive and effective care for people with diabetes. NYHealth funded the Institute for Family Health (IFH) to help develop this statewide initiative by promoting changes in the community, the health care system, and in patient behavior.

NYHealth selected Neil Calman, President and CEO of the Institute for Family Health, to lead the New York State Diabetes Campaign to reverse the diabetes epidemic. In partnership with the Foundation, Dr. Calman and a leadership team will tackle the epidemic by: 1) spreading and standardizing best practices for clinical care in primary care settings for people with diabetes, 2) mobilizing communities and building their capacity to better prevent, identify, and manage the disease, and 3) promoting policy and payment incentives to advance diabetes improvements in the clinical and community setting. Across all three areas, the strategy is to identify proven methods for managing diabetes and taking them to scale and develop strategies to sustain them for long run.

The Campaign staff has engaged four of the major provider trade associations and created the Diabetes Clinical Improvement Network (DCIN). They include: the Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS), the trade association for community health centers; the New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians (NY ACP), the professional association for general and specialty internal medicine physicians; and the New York State Academy of Family Physicians (NY AFP), the professional association for family physicians, and Hospital Association of New York State, which represents 550 hospitals across New York State and will focus its efforts on improving diabetes outcomes in its 154 hospital-based outpatient clinics and affiliated practices. These associations represent a large proportion of primary care physicians— nearly 15,000—in New York State. Working with these partners, the Campaign staff will continue to provide training and technical assistance to primary care providers in order to improve diabetes care and attain recognition under the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Diabetes Physician Recognition Program (DPRP).