COLUMBUS – A merger being announced Thursday will bring good news for thousands of diabetes sufferers in Ohio.
Columbus-based Lifecare Alliance, which merged with the Central Ohio Diabetes Association in 2017, will join forces with Diabetes Dayton to provide diabetes-care services to 26 counties in central and western Ohio, including the areas around Dayton and Springfield, as well as part of the Cincinnati area.
The two organizations are the last remaining independent diabetes associations in the state, Lifecare Alliance president and CEO Chuck Gehring.
“They’ll be able to work together and get to more people at less cost,” Gehring said.
Gehring says the merger will give patients in the Columbus area access to a facility that is like no other in Ohio.
“They have a storeroom where they store diabetes supplies and equipment and the either give it away for free to people who are uninsured or under-insured or low income, or the sell it for very, very, very low pricing,” he said.
One million Ohio adults have diabetes, and an additional 300,000 have diabetes but do not know it. Gehring says access to additional testing will help detect diabetes earlier, which can also help treat older patients without the use of common drugs.
Diabetes Dayton will continue screenings, education and Camp Ko-Man-She for diabetes children while eliminating operating redundancies and reducing administrative costs in its six-county service area.
Formed in 1898, LifeCare Alliance is the Midwest’s leading provider of Meals-on-Wheels and provides a comprehensive array of health and nutrition services to older adults and individuals living with a medical challenge or disability.
Formerly known as the Diabetes Association of the Dayton Area, Diabetes Dayton has been in operation since 1963.