New Employer Partnership Aims to Prevent, Better Manage, and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes in St. Louis Community

ST. LOUIS, March 26, 2019 – Sixty employers are leading the charge to prevent, better manage, and reverse type 2 diabetes through a new community-wide initiative with the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition (BHC). Co-chaired by local employers Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC and Bi-State Development, the Defeat Diabetes STL campaign will explore opportunities to align health care, benefit, and well-being strategies to support employees and family members with prediabetes and diabetes. Over 100 million U.S. adults are impacted by these chronic conditions, with diabetes now ranked as the 7^th leading cause of death nationally.

"As a local organization, Bi-State Development is dedicated to advancing the well-being of the St. Louis community through our people, businesses, and economic development. Our employees are critical to this mission, and we recognize that in order to have a positive impact, our team members must feel their best physically, emotionally, and socially. Defeating diabetes is an important step towards achieving this goal,” explained campaign co-chair, Dave Toben, Director of Benefits for Bi-State Development.

Through collaborative workgroup meetings, BHC employer members have identified four objectives to form the foundation for campaign activities:

(1) Deciphering the Data: Understand differences in the ways that vendors define metrics to assess prediabetes and diabetes using available data sources. Establish more consistent reporting and access to appropriate commercial benchmarks.

(2) Finding the Right Partners: Delineate key characteristics of effective programs for diabetes prevention, management, and reversal. Evaluate vendors and community programs and organize results into a meaningful comparison tool for employers to match preferences and needs in selecting potential partners.

(3) Learning From One Another: Share best practices and employer case studies on what is working (and not working) for diabetes prevention, management, and reversal, as well as tips for how employers can overcome common barriers and challenges.

(4) Getting to Action: Discuss and/or develop new communication and engagement strategies to increase awareness, participation, and personal accountability among employees and the community in addressing prediabetes and diabetes.

Campaign co-chair Brian Haschmann, Director, Health & Welfare, at Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC echoed the importance this campaign for employers, “At Anheuser-Busch, we pride ourselves on our high ambitions and go-getter mentalities, but without good health we can’t be our best—at home, at work, or in the community. Our strength is in our people, and by defeating diabetes, we’re bringing people together for a better world.”

The two-year campaign will formally kick off during the BHC’s upcoming Spring Forum on April 10. The event will bring together top researchers, health care providers, employers, and well-being experts to discuss the latest science in diabetes prevention, management, and reversal. In addition to businesses, this community dialogue seeks to engage other stakeholders moving the needle of diabetes care management in the St. Louis community, including health system, insurance, pharmaceutical, and policy leaders. To learn more about this event and the campaign efforts, please visit www.stlbhc.org/page/DefeatDiabetesSTL.

The BHC is deeply appreciative of campaign sponsors, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Novo Nordisk Inc., and Naturally Slim^®, for their generous support in making these activities possible. “It’s a privilege to partner with the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition and its members to raise awareness of the importance of diabetes prevention across the region and beyond,” said Dr. Tim Church, MD, MPH, PhD, and Chief Medical Officer of Naturally Slim^®. “Employers are on the front lines in America’s fight to improve population health and reduce health care spending from diabetes and obesity-related chronic disease, and Naturally Slim^® is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in this journey.”

About the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition

The St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition (BHC) is a nonprofit organization representing 60 leading employers, which provide health benefits to thousands of lives locally and millions nationally. For 37 years, the BHC has worked to achieve its mission of supporting employer efforts to improve the well-being of their employees and enhance the quality and overall value of their investments in health benefits. To accomplish these aims, the BHC centers its work on providing pertinent research, resources, and educational opportunities to help employers understand best practices for the strategic design (and informed use) of benefits to facilitate high-quality, affordable health care. To learn more, please visit www.stlbhc.org or follow the BHC on Twitter and LinkedIn.