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CONTACT:

Sharon Grace
703.838-0033 ext. 393
sgrace@amga.org

November 3, 2016

AMGA Foundation’s Diabetes: Together 2 Goal® Campaign Launches National Observance
Day of Action Empowers the Nation Around Diabetes Management

ALEXANDRIA, VA – AMGA Foundation announced its Together 2 Goal® National Day of Action for diabetes management, in conjunction with American Diabetes Month in November.

Medical groups, health systems, non-profit partners, corporate collaborators, and individuals across the country will take an "action" to empower the nation to better manage diabetes. Planned activities include community events, media outreach, patient educational resources, employee education, giveaways, social media campaigns, and more.

“We are bringing together the nation on one day to join forces in the fight against a chronic condition that affects millions,” said Jerry Penso, MD, MBA, president of AMGA Foundation and chief medical and quality officer of AMGA. “Simple actions that individuals and organizations can do today, from adding an extra serving of vegetables to your plate to educating employees about the risk factors for diabetes, can help draw attention to one of our nation’s most significant health issues.”

Approximately 29.1 million people or 9.3% of the population have diabetes, including nearly 1 in 4 people with diabetes who are undiagnosed. People who have diabetes are at higher risk of serious health complications, including blindness; kidney failure; heart disease; stroke; and loss of toes, feet, or legs. Total (direct and indirect) costs for people with diagnosed diabetes is $245 billion.

“The National Day of Action will reach millions of people with diabetes, their loved ones and their entire healthcare team. Working together, we can achieve our shared goal of helping people with Type 2 diabetes live longer, healthier lives,” said Dr. Penso.

AMGA Foundation launched its National Day of Action concept during its first Chronic Care Challenge campaign, Measure Up/Pressure Down®, and has continued the observance as part of the Together 2 Goal® campaign.

Led by AMGA Foundation, the nonprofit arm of AMGA, Together 2 Goal® is a national campaign aimed at improving management of type 2 diabetes in the United States. This three-year initiative will challenge leading healthcare organizations to work together to transform diabetes care for millions across the country.

To date, nearly 150 AMGA members have committed to implementing at least one of the “campaign planks”—11 evidence-based care processes—that will improve the care of people with the condition by empowering patients, improving care delivery, and leveraging information technology. Additionally, campaign participants will report data on a quarterly basis to measure progress towards this goal and utilize the campaign’s resources and tools to achieve this mark.

About the Together 2 Goal® Campaign
The AMGA Foundation, the nonprofit arm of AMGA, launched Together 2 Goal®, a three-year national campaign to fight the challenge of type 2 diabetes on March 12, 2016. Together 2 Goal® includes over 150 medical groups, health systems, non-profit partners, and corporate collaborators such as the American Diabetes Association, American Association of Diabetes Educators, Novo Nordisk, Inc., Geisinger Health System, Henry Ford Health System, Intermountain Healthcare, and Ochsner Health System. The goal of the three-year campaign is to improve care for 1 million people with type 2 diabetes by 2019. www.Together2Goal.org

About AMGA Foundation
AMGA Foundation is AMGA’s philanthropic arm that enables medical groups and other organized systems of care to consistently improve health and health care. AMGA Foundation serves as a catalyst, connector, and collaborator for translating the evidence of what works best in improving health and health care in everyday practice. amga.org/foundation

About AMGA
AMGA is a trade association leading the transformation of health care in America. Representing multispecialty medical groups and integrated systems of care, we advocate, educate, and empower our members to deliver the next level of high performance health. AMGA is the national voice promoting awareness of medical groups’ recognized excellence in the delivery of coordinated, high-quality, cost-effective care. More than 170,000 physicians practice in our member organizations, delivering care to one in three Americans. For more information, amga.org