Diabetes, a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use the hormone insulin that converts sugars and starches into energy, and the complications associated with the disease affect 16.5 percent of Native Americans - that's more than twice the national average.
The Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation is taking an active role to fight diabetes. Since 2002, the Foundation has provided annual support to the Medical College of Wisconsin, the largest research institution in eastern Wisconsin, for diabetes research and education initiatives.
"The Foundation is committed to health programming with a focus on the disproportionately high rates of diabetes among Native American populations," said Thomas Boelter, executive director for the Foundation.
The funding, targeted at initiatives for diabetics among minority populations in Milwaukee and at the Potawatomi Reservation in Crandon, has supported:
- Lectures to provide tribal members with diabetes information and resources to manage their care.
- Cultural competence and diabetes seminars for general practitioners in Indian Country across the state.
- Research Opportunity for Academic Development in Science (ROADS) program, a summer internship providing disadvantaged high school students with experience in an academic research lab.
- Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR), for undergraduates to work with faculty, students, and staff on significant basic science research projects, like diabetes.
A portion of the Foundation's investment was leveraged by Edith A. Burns, MD, an Associate Professor of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Medical College to secure a $1.5 million National Institutes of Health grant.
"Resources from the Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation have enabled the research team to gather pilot data, helped with unanticipated expenses, such as hiring translators, and have proved invaluable for maintaining trained research staff between funding gaps," said Dr. Burns.
The Foundation and the Medical College will continue working together to search for a cure, help people with diabetes, and invest in the health of future generations.
