KHI NEWS SERVICE
KANSAS CITY, Kan., April 18
University of Kansas Medical Center officials said Wednesday that they”ve combined research and clinical care in a single location at the center”s new Diabetes Institute, making it the only one of its kind in the U.S.
“Current health trends link an increase in obesity with an increase in diabetes diagnoses and these increases are happening here in Kansas,” Dr. David Robbins, director of the institute, said in a prepared statement. “This crisis, coupled with the under-representation of endocrinology specialists in Kansas City and the state of Kansas, makes this kind of institute absolutely necessary to care for the citizens in our region.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, from 1998 to 2005, the incidences of diabetes diagnoses in Kansas jumped from 4 percent to 6.9 percent
KU Med officials said faculty and staff of the institute will collaborate with other area researchers and clinicians, including those at Children”s Mercy and St. Luke”s hospitals.
“Though collaboration between researchers at KU, Saint Luke”s and Children”s Mercy already exists, the opening of the Diabetes Institute signifies an official investment in resources through which additional research and care can develop across the region involving multiple institutions,” KU officials said in a press release.
Diabetes research at KU is funded in part with $12 million in external research grants and the Medical Center has a goal of raising another $20 million to recruit 20 additional faculty members working in the area of diabetes. Another goal of the institute, officials said, is to attain National Institutes of Health designation as a Diabetes Research Center.