BRIDGEPORT, CT (Oct. 5, 2015) – The Bridgeport Hospital Foundation has received a $50,000 grant from the Newman’s Own Foundation to support the expansion of Diabetes and Endocrinology services in the Bridgeport Hospital Primary Care Center.
Specifically, the grant will be used to refurbish new space for the center’s Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinic and outfit six treatment rooms and offices with exam tables, medical equipment, computers and other furniture. The work is expected to reduce wait times for new appointments, allow more patients to access critical services and reduce hospital admissions for complications due to diabetes.
Almost 10 percent of the American population is living with diabetes and more than 27 percent of all cases are undiagnosed. The consequences of untreated diabetes can include blindness, stroke, cardiac disease and vascular disease that can result in limb amputations, and chronic kidney disease.
Bridgeport Hospital’s Primary Care Center is the only the only American Diabetes Association-certified diabetes program in the Bridgeport region and only area provider that accepts specialty care referrals from outside providers. The next nearest diabetes center for the underserved is in New Haven, which presents a challenge to patients without access to transportation.
The center received 32,000 visits during the past year from 3,800 Medicaid-insured or uninsured patients. So far in 2015, it has served over 1,100 patients with diabetes, nearly half of them considered to be at very high risk of complications. Patients treated in the hospital’s specialty clinic have much better outcomes and are more likely to avoid serious diabetic complications and hospital admissions. The center’s bilingual staff includes endocrinologists, podiatrists, nurse practitioners, dietitians, registered nurses, social workers and care coordinators.
