mrs. delagard, a 76-year-old, was scheduled to have her leg amputated. one of her family members came to a community reach diabetes education class and talkedwith a community health advisor about mrs. delagard's problems. as a result she has her leg. diabetes was really a closeted issue.
even people who are on insulin often didn't share thatwith their family and support systems. today it's really a community conversation. we started out with about a rate of 40 amputations per 1,000 hospitalizations with people with diabetes.
and we've reduced thatby 50 percent. that translates into a cost savingsof about $2 million per year.