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Diabetes and New York City don’t get along together. More than a third of the city’s adult population either has diabetes or prediabetes (imminent risk of diabetes). The situation’s even worse in Brooklyn, says Dr. Richard Becker, MD, president and CEO of The Brooklyn Hospital Center.

Ed Belkin, Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH, Congressman Edolphus Towns, NYS Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns, and Dr. Richard B. Becker, President and CEO of The Brooklyn Hospital Center

“We’ve got the second-highest diabetes rate in New York City after the Bronx. That’s why we’ve got to fight this disease every way possible, first of all through prevention but also by making sure our residents have access to the most up-to-date medical therapies out there.”
 
Helping to keep Downtown Brooklyn plugged in to the latest breakthroughs in diabetes treatment, The Brooklyn Hospital Center hosted Congressman Edolphus Towns (D-10), Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns (54^th Assembly District) and representatives from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) for a press conference this December which reported on 183 new medicines in human clinical trials or awaiting approval by the FDA.

 “Developing new drugs to treat diabetes here in New York City will help address one of the major diseases affecting our community,” said Congressman Towns, who discussed his own battle with the disease at the event.

But Towns added that no drug therapy, no matter how effective, is worth much if the people who need it most can’t afford access. Uninsured and financially-struggling patients can receive the diabetes medications they need through the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (www.pparx.org  or 1-888-4PPA-NOW), an organization sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies. The PPA has helped almost two hundred thousand patients in New York State and six million more nationwide.

More information about Diabetes from our Website:

• Take a Diabetes Assessment
• Type 2 Diabetes Guide
• TBHC Department of Endocrinology