AAPCHO addresses diabetes with new program

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations has introduced a program that aims to reduce the secondary complications of diabetes among specific ethnic groups living with the disease.

AAPCHO said its five-year diabetes program addresses diabetes among vulnerable populations in three Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander communities:

• In the Republic of the Marshall Islands by Ebeye Community Health Center;


• In Los Angeles by the Asian Pacific Health Care Venture; and


• In Waimanalo, Hawaii, by the Waimanalo Health Center.

Each program grantee is a community health center that provides healthcare services to medically underserved AA&NHOPI patients, many of whom are uninsured and low-income patients and have limited English proficiency.

The prevalence of diabetes among these ethnic groups continues to rise, AAPCHO noted.

"This program is unique for us in that its goal is to address diabetes more broadly, beyond just improving a diabetes patient's health through the clinic or medical provider's office," said Jeffrey Caballero, executive director of AAPCHO. "This program requires us to develop a broader collaborative strategy and network with more nontraditional partners to address diabetes not just at the individual patient level, but at the local community level."