We don?t simply want to fight diabetes. We want to stop diabetes.

With more than 25.8 million people living with the disease and another 79 million at risk, your job as a health care professional grows more important every day. You play a significant role in the lives of your patients who have diabetes, and it?s only natural that you might want to do more.

Get involved in this year?s Step Out?: Walk to Stop Diabetes^SM, the fourth annual family-friendly 5K fundraising walk of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). IBC is proud to once again be the presenting sponsor of the walk on Saturday, October 1, 2011. Participation shows your patients how much you care, promotes diabetes awareness and the benefits of living a healthy, active lifestyle, and helps provide needed funding for the ADA.

Walk with Your Doc

Walk with Your Doc is a program that encourages health care providers and their office staff to create a walking team for Step Out and to recruit their patients to join the team. Get started today ? create a team by following these simple steps:

1. Go online to www.diabetes.org/stepoutphilly to register your team.
2. Name your team. The name should begin with ?Walk with Your Doc? (e.g., Walk with Your Doc ? Diabetes and Endocrinology Associates).
3. Once your team is registered, you can send emails to patients and staff or print registration forms to recruit them to your team. This is when the fund raising begins!

All funds raised through Step Out are used to support the ADA?s ongoing research, education, and advocacy efforts. This includes the ADA?s investment of $300 million in diabetes research aimed at preventing and curing diabetes and helping people with diabetes live longer and healthier lives. In addition, the ADA offers education and other informative materials such as annual scientific sessions, medical care guidelines and recommendations, diabetes patient education program accreditation, and a Provider Recognition Program. Find out more at www.diabetes.org.

Not just for doctors

Walk with Your Doc isn?t just for doctors. We want to encourage all concerned members of the health care community to form teams ? nurses, physician assistants, diabetes educators, and support staff, too. Everyone should join in the fight to stop diabetes.

We?ll see you there!

So gather up your colleagues, patients, family, and friends; grab your walking shoes; and head for the Philadelphia Museum of Art on October 1. By raising awareness of diabetes and helping to raise diabetes research funds, together we can strive towards eliminating diabetes. Don?t forget to register at www.diabetes.org/stepout or by calling 1-888-DIABETES.