UK HealthCare Holds Kick-Off for Annual Diabetes Walk

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 28, 2012) − UK HealthCare will sponsor the 2012 Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes, benefiting the American Diabetes Association (ADA), June 2 at the Keeneland Race Course. UK HealthCare is committed to having a large walk team and raising a collective goal of $10,000.
 

A Team Captain Kick-Off will be held from 9 to 10 a.m., Thursday, March 29, in the atrium of the Biomedical Biological Sciences Research Building (BBSRB) located next to the College of Pharmacy on South Limestone.
 

Team captains recruit team members from within their departments, in addition to family and friends, to participate in the Step Out Walk. Dr. Michael Karpf, executive vice president for health affairs, will serve as UK HealthCare's executive champion for this year's walk and will speak during the Kickoff. The American Diabetes Association staff will also be on hand to give captains information they need to ensure their success.
 

Dr. Dennis G. Karounos, associate professor of internal medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine at the UK College of Medicine, said the Step Out Walk Kick-Off event comes in the middle of Diabetes Alert Week, a time for people to take an active stance to help stop diabetes by taking the Diabetes Risk Test.  

It is estimated that one in three American adults have prediabetes. The risk test will help to identify these individuals.  Early intervention via lifestyle changes can prevent the development of diabetes.
 

"By taking the Diabetes risk test, individuals are taking a pro-active stance to stop diabetes before life-altering consequences of the disease can occur, and on a broader community level, participating in the walk and supporting supporting the ADA and the medical community will assist us as we work to find a cure for diabetes," Karounos said.
 

To register to join a UK HealthCare team in the walk or become a team captain and form your own team, go to http://main.diabetes.org/goto/UKHealthcare. To attend the Step Out Walk kick-off event on March 29, please RSVP to Lisa Edwards, director of the Lexington ADA office at ledwards@diabetes.org or by calling (859) 268-9129.

Media Contact:  Ann Blackford at (859) 323-6442 or ann.blackford@uky.edu