Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance launches programs in D.C. area

WASHINGTON — Rite Aid, UnitedHealth Group and the YMCA are partnering to offer community-based programs to combat Type 2 diabetes in the Washington, D.C., area through the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance, the three companies said.

The alliance marked the launch of the programs by having a community forum hosted by the YMCA of Greater Metropolitan Washington featuring such panelists as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Diabetes Translation director Ann Albright. Rite Aid joined the alliance in September and supports patients enrolled in its programs through select stores in New York and Washington.

The alliance, which is launching the effort as part of its "Not Me" campaign, said the incidence of diabetes in the Washington area — 11%, compared with 8.7% nationwide — supported the need for the programs, which include the Diabetes Prevention Program, a group-based intervention program that helps people who are at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes prevent the disease through modest weight loss promoted through healthy eating, increased physical activity and other lifestyle changes.