NFL Star Roberto Garza Teams With AAHP & ADA On Bi-Lingual Diabetes Education Campaign.

“Check Your Feet!” That is the advice millions of Americans with diabetes will soon be getting in television, radio, and print public service announcements (PSAs) created by the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The PSAs, featuring Roberto Garza, starting center for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL), will be distributed in English and in Spanish beginning this week in markets across the country.

AAHP and ADA kicked off the PSA campaign at an event today on Capitol Hill attended by Bush Administration officials and members of the Congressional Diabetes and Hispanic Caucuses. In this spirit, several “kicked off” their shoes and socks and joined in a demonstration of proper foot care for people with diabetes.

“We are proud to join Roberto Garza of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, leaders in the Administration and the Congress, and our partner, the ADA in a broad- based effort to encourage people with diabetes to get and practice proper foot care,” said AAHP President Karen Ignagni. “America’s health plans are committed to this goal, and are encouraging stations all over the country to broadcast an important message to their Spanish- and English-speaking audiences.”

Up to 85% of 82,000 amputations associated with diabetes in the U.S. each year could be prevented with proper foot care. The PSA campaign is part of a long-term AAHP/ADA initiative, “Taking on Diabetes,” that involves 300 health plans nationwide.

Garza’s commitment stems from family experience, including that of his grandfather, who recently lost part of his foot to the disease. Knowing that diabetes is quite prevalent among Spanish-speaking Americans, he sought an organization that is involved in bilingual diabetes education and offered to donate his services to the planned PSA campaign. Both the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons are posting the PSAs to their respective web sites.

“This campaign represents the next phase of an ambitious project started by AAHP and ADA to reduce the terrible complications associated with diabetes,” said ADA President Francine Kaufman, M.D. “It has been proven that proper foot care can reduce the risk of amputation in people with diabetes dramatically. Our goal is to see that that knowledge is put into practice on a consistent basis for people with diabetes across the country,” she said.

“I believe that if my grandfather had this information, it would have made a difference for him,” said Garza. “I want to use my position to help others avoid what happened in my family.”