National Black Nurses Association, Inc. 8630 Fenton Street, Suite 330, Silver Spring, MD 20910 · Phone: (301) 589-3200 · Fax: (301) 589-3223

NATIONAL BLACK NURSES ASSOCIATION JOINS NATIONAL CALL TO ACTION URGING AMERICANS WITH DIABETES TO ACHIEVE A TARGET A1c<7

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 14, 2002 - The National Black Nurses Association, Inc. joins nearly two dozen leading advocacy and health organizations and key policymakers, including Tommy Thompson, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, in support of a national public health initiative to help the more than 17 million Americans with diabetes achieve target blood sugar levels.

The new program, known as Aim. Believe. Achieve: The Diabetes A1c Initiative™, is focusing on educating people about A1c - the gold standard for measuring blood glucose control over a three-month period - and motivating them to achieve an A1c of less than 7 percent, which is the recommended medical target for optimal blood sugar control.

Diabetes is a growing epidemic, disproportionately affecting the African American community. This chronic disease is a risk factor for cardiovascular, heart attacks and strokes. Loss of limbs, eye sight, kidney and liver functions are directly related to high and uncontrolled levels of blood sugar. The National Black Nurses Association is participating in the "AIM. BELIEVE. ACHIEVE: The Diabetes A1c Initiative" as one strategy to help close the health care disparities gap around diabetes.

The event in Washington, D.C., and around the country are hosted in partnership with the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE), the International Diabetes Centers (IDC) and Take Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD) and supported by Aventis Pharmaceuticals. For more information on this initiative, or A1c visit www.diabeteswatch.com.

The National Black Nurses Association represents 150,000 African American nurses from the USA, Eastern Caribbean and Africa, with 75 chartered chapters nationwide. The NBNA mission is to provide a forum for collective action by African American nurses to "investigate, define and determine what the health care needs of African Americans are and to implement change to make available to African Americans and other minorities health care commensurate with that of the larger society."

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