Diabetes: Event draws crowd

WHEATFIELD, N.Y. - With its referral sources seeing more diabetes patients then ever, Health System Services (HSS) saw a chance to raise awareness--and its profile in the community.

In November, the provider hosted its first Diabetes Awareness Day, an event that drew about 75 patients to its retail showroom here.

"The projections for the number of people who are going to develop diabetes are staggering, so we thought it made sense to do this," said Doug Mooradian, director of marketing and public relationships for HSS. "This way, people could learn about resources that are available to them locally."

The American Diabetes Association says as many as one in three Americans could develop diabetes by 2050. The association has designated November as American Diabetes Month to raise awareness.

HSS brought in several of its referral sources, which include two hospital systems and a wound care center, as speakers for the event. The result was a schedule of educational sessions on topics ranging from foot care to healthy eating tips.

"This was a nice way to present ourselves as a resource, rather than just an equipment provider," said Mooradian. "There's a lot of things we bring to the table."

The first 50 participants received gift bags filled with product samples, like socks and lotion, which were donated by manufacturers.

Although the main focus of the event was to make people aware of the local resources available to them, it was also a good way for people to learn more about HSS, said Mooradian.

"People are not just going to stop in our showroom and check us out," he said. "Our most effective form of advertising is actually inviting people to the store and seeing all the different ways we can help them."