Declare Diabetes Awareness Month

Senate Resolution No. 2370 BY: Senator RIVERA MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim November 2020, as Diabetes Awareness Month in the State of New York WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim November 2020, as Diabetes Awareness Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with the observance of National Diabetes Awareness Month; and WHEREAS, Diabetes, the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, is a chronic disease in which blood sugar levels are above normal; and WHEREAS, Diabetes affects more than 30 million Americans in the United States and 2,071,909 New Yorkers; the percent of New York State adults with diabetes increased from 6.3% in 2000 to 10.5% in 2016; and WHEREAS, There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, which occurs when one's body cannot make insulin (occurs in 5% of people with diabetes), type 2, which occurs when one's body does not use insulin well and is unable to keep blood sugar at normal levels (occurs in 90% of people with diabetes), and gestational diabetes, which occurs in some pregnant women and can lead to type 2 diabetes in the future; and WHEREAS, Before most people develop diabetes, they generally experience a stage of prediabetes, which occurs when one's blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes; people with prediabetes are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke; prediabetes affects 4.5 million New Yorkers, 86 million people in the Unites States, and 15-30% of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years; and WHEREAS, People can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes by making healthier life and food choices, losing small amounts of weight, and being more physically active; and WHEREAS, According to the New York State Department of Health, diabetes reached epidemic proportions in New York State with an overall annual cost of diabetes, attributable to both direct medical costs and lost productivity, of $12 billion for all payers; and WHEREAS, The American Heart Association considers diabetes to be one of the seven major controllable risk factors for cardiovascular disease; CDC Medicare data, compiled from 2012-2016, states that the total amount paid for Cardiovascular Disease was $7.8 billion for 21,162 New York beneficiaries; and WHEREAS, The goal is for Diabetes Awareness Month to increase the amount of education and attentiveness dedicated to diabetes in New York State, to improve the overall health outcomes of New Yorkers and to relieve the financial burden associated with the disease; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim November 2020, as Diabetes Awareness Month in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York.