Diabetes Center grows
Joslin Center moves to larger quarters, gets $500,000 state grant for outreach. It's on East Genesee Street.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
By James T. Mulder
Staff writer
Business was so brisk at the Joslin Diabetes Center of SUNY Upstate Medical University, there were not enough exam rooms to see patients.
The center moved last month from downtown Syracuse to larger quarters at 3229 E. Genesee St., opposite Nottingham High School, to accommodate a surge in demand for services fueled by the diabetes epidemic.
The 16,794-square-foot building, the former home of Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, is more than twice the size of the center's previous location in University Health Care Center, at 90 Presidential Plaza, where it operated since opening in 1995.
About 60 new patients are referred to the center each week. Since launching a pediatric program three years ago, the center's caseload of child and adolescent patients has grown from 500 to 850. The center has seen patients as young as 9 months old. It handles 16,000 patient visits annually, a number ex pected to grow 20 percent over the next year.
"When we opened, we didn't anticipate the epidemic of diabetes that has occurred since then," said Dr. Ruth Weinstock, the medical director.
The number of diabetics worldwide has grown from 30 million to 246 million over the past 20 years, the International Diabetes Foundation said.
In the United States, 21 million people, or 7 percent of the population, have diabetes, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Central New York, there are about 58,000 adults with diabetes, according to a study by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.
Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy.
The cause of diabetes is a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles. About 80 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes, the most prevalent type, are obese, Weinstock said.
"As obesity and sedentary lifestyles have increased, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes has increased," she said.
Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, amputations in adults and kidney failure. Many people with diabetes die of heart attacks and strokes.
"The good news is there are many ways now we can hopefully prevent complications," Weinstock said.
Upstate opened the center as the 11th of what are 25 affiliates of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Under one roof, the center provides diabetics with comprehensive services such as nutrition education, counseling, podiatry services and a staff of adult and pediatric endocrinologists.
"Diabetes affects every organ in the body," she said. "It's a disease of self-management."
Now that it has more space, the center expects to expand teleconferencing so people far away can take its patient education classes. The center has a teleconference site in Oswego and hopes to add sites in the North Country, Weinstock said.
It also has a new telemedicine project that allows staff to consult with schools in the region.
"We can train school staff so they know how to recognize if the child's blood sugar is going too low," she said.
The Joslin Center is involved in research projects, including a study aimed at determining the best treatment for people 10 to 17 years old with Type 2 diabetes. It's also studying if there's a relationship between environmental pollutants and diabetes.
The state Health Department recently designated Joslin a diabetes center of excellence, one of five in the state and the only one in Central New York. As part of that designation, the state is providing the center a grant of $500,000 over five years to support its outreach efforts and other programs.
James T. Mulder can be reached at 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com.
