Press Releases: Georgia
Kaiser Permanente of Georgia Offers Free Diabetes Blood Screenings During 2009 Diabetes Alert Day
ATLANTA – More than 250,000 Georgians have diabetes and don’t know it. Many could be at risk of developing blindness, kidney disease, nerve disease and amputations, heart disease and stroke.
In conjunction with the American Diabetes Association, Kaiser Permanente will offer free diabetes blood screenings for the general public on Diabetes Alert Day, Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at all Kaiser Permanente medical centers in metro Atlanta. The free screenings will be held from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and are offered to the public on a first‑come, first-served basis.
“Diabetes is on the rise in Georgia because of an increase in the number of people who are overweight. In the last 10 years, the number of people with diabetes has increased by 50 percent,” said Juanita Cone, MD, chief of population-based care, prevention and health promotion for Kaiser Permanente. “We are committed to getting the entire community – not just Kaiser Permanente members – out to get screened for diabetes.”
The screenings will be offered at the following locations:
- Alpharetta (3550 Preston Ridge Road, Alpharetta, GA 30005)
- Cumberland/Cobb (2525 Cumberland Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339)
- Gwinnett/Duluth (3650 Steve Reynolds Boulevard, Duluth, GA 30096)
- Forsyth/Cumming (1400 Northside Forsyth Drive, Suite 350, Cumming, GA 30041)
- Henry/McDonough (1125 Towne Centre Village Drive, McDonough, GA 30253)
- Kennesaw/Cobb (750 TownPark Lane, Kennesaw, GA 30114)
- Lithonia/DeKalb (5440 Hillandale Drive, Lithonia, GA 30253)
- Midtown/Brookwood area (1735 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30308)
- Perimeter/North Fulton (20 Glenlake Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30328)
- South Atlanta/Jonesboro (2400 Mt. Zion Parkway, Jonesboro, GA 30263)
- Southwest Atlanta/Cascade (1175 Cascade Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30011)
- Stonecrest Mall area (8011 Mall Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30038)
- Sugar Hill-Buford/North Gwinnett (1435 Broadmoor Blvd, Sugar Hill, GA 30518)
- Tucker/DeKalb (200 Crescent Centre Parkway, Tucker, GA 30084)
- West Cobb/Austell (3640 Tramore Pointe Parkway, Austell, GA 30106)
If you would like to speak with Dr. Cone or a patient with diabetes for your story, contact Billy Auer at Kaiser Permanente at (404) 869-5952 or billy.auer@kp.org.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente of Georgia is the state’s largest nonprofit health plan, serving the health care needs of Atlanta metro area residents since 1985. The health plan currently provides comprehensive health care services to approximately 265,000 members through 17 medical facilities in a 28-county service area and a network of affiliated hospitals and physicians. For more information, visit www.kp.org.
