The honorable Ed Harbison
431 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334

Dear Senator Harbison, My name is Bertha and I am a registered nurse who lives and work in Columbus, GA. I am writing to alert you to a serious health issue in Georgia, especially Columbus Ga. Alarming numbers of adults are been diagnosed with diabetes yearly. As a nurse, my concern is the long term effects of uncontrolled diabetes on patients. Some of the long term effects are blood vessel damage, nerve damage, kidney failure and blindness just to mention a few. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in Georgia. Between 2000 and 2013, there were 223,924 diabetes-related hospitalizations in Georgia. More than 1 in 10 Georgia adults has diabetes, or more than a million people. Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in Georgia in 2006. In 2008, approximately 707,000 adults aged 18 years and older (10.1% of the Georgia adult population) reported that they had been diagnosed with diabetes (equivalent to one in seven Georgians). In 2006, there were 15,593 hospitalizations where diabetes was the principal diagnosis resulting in over $288 million hospital charges. Cost of diabetes medical care = $11,744 vs. $5,095 for a person without diabetes. Adult diabetes rate for our county (Muscogee) is 12% compared to 10.4% statewide and these numbers for our county is alarming. Most adults living with diabetes do not check their blood glucose level as often as they need to due to poverty and lack of insurance. Without testing their glucose levels, they will not be able to manage it effectively causing all these complications. In view of this, I will like you to consider supporting a regulation that will provide free glucometers and all accompanied supplies and the necessary education to all patients with diabetes and newly diagnosed patients. I am willing to help