Public Health 

Diabetes in the Central Valley

Partner: 
Fresno Bee
Summary: 

Nowhere in California are people more likely to die of diabetes than in the eight counties that make up the state’s Central Valley. The disease has reached epidemic proportions in the valley, where it touches one of every ten residents. An analysis by the Center paints a disturbing, detailed picture of the toll diabetes reaps among the valley’s 3 million residents.

Impact Summary: 

Nowhere in California are people more likely to die of diabetes than in the eight counties that make up the state’s Central Valley. The disease has reached epidemic proportions in the valley, where it touches one of every ten residents. An analysis by the Center paints a disturbing, detailed picture of the toll diabetes reaps among the valley’s 3 million residents.

Results
Central Valley hard-hit by diabetes epidemic
Barbara Anderson and Natalya Shulyakovskaya | February 14, 2009
Every week in the San Joaquin Valley, at least 19 people die of diabetes - and the death toll is rising. The disease has reached epidemic proportions nationwide, but few places are as stricken as the Valley's eight counties, from San Joaquin to Kern. Nowhere in California are people more likely to die of diabetes than here. The complex web of reasons include obesity and poverty.
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Results
Valley residents learn difficulties of living with diabetes
Barbara Anderson, Fresno Bee | February 14, 2009
 
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Results
Health programs try to slow progression of diabetes
Barbara Anderson and Natalya Shulyakovskaya | February 15, 2009
At the Visalia Oak Health Center, doctors know all about diabetic patients even before examining them. A computer tracking system alerts doctors to a patient's health needs. They know if the patient is due for a foot exam to check for nerve damage, an eye test to look at blood vessels or laboratory work to measure blood-glucose levels. It doesn't matter if the patient is there for something else — a cough, cold or backache. The diabetes registry tells the doctor what diabetes care the patient needs.
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