Ready to go? The importance of advance planning: Lilly Diabetes and the American College of Endocrinology (ACE) help people with diabetes prep for emergencies

How-to video, English and Spanish checklists put help at your fingertips

News provided by

Eli Lilly and Company

May 14, 2014, 04:30 ET

LAS VEGAS, May 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

News Highlights:

@TheAACE, Lilly Diabetes offer emergency tips for people w/ #diabetes at mydiabetesemergencyplan.com, downloadable in both English & Spanish
Lilly Diabetes and @TheAACE have distributed more than 12 million #diabetes emergency checklists since '06 mydiabetesemergencyplan.com

What if you had to leave your house right now in an emergency? Do you have everything ready? What if you have diabetes? Are you prepared to protect your health if you need to or are forced to leave home today? The American College of Endocrinology (ACE) and Lilly Diabetes will host a briefing at ACE's annual meeting today to answer that question during a discussion on the importance of planning for people with diabetes. This shared mission, started as a result of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, led to the development of the "My Diabetes Emergency Plan," a comprehensive checklist to help people with diabetes prepare in advance of emergency situations.

The program, launched in 2006, highlights both severe weather emergencies and natural disasters as well as unexpected events like power outages, car trouble, or the last-minute trip out of town. Tips in both English and a newly updated Spanish version are available for free download at mydiabetesemergencyplan.com. Also available is an updated step-by-step emergency kit preparation video. Since 2006, more than 12.5 million checklists have been distributed throughout the United States.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), recent United States weather trends indicate that more frequent and intense weather patterns are affecting larger areas of the country–impacting more people.¹ From hurricanes along the coast to tornadoes throughout the Midwest to ice storms across the country, these situations can be particularly challenging, especially for someone who has diabetes and may require insulin to manage their disease.

"If someone with diabetes must relocate because of severe weather, or simply travel away from home, having a kit prepared with essential components can make a major difference in her or his ability to manage their health," said Dr. Lawrence Blonde, endocrinologist and member of the American College of Endocrinology. "We are encouraging people with diabetes to protect their health by taking action in advance of these situations–a few minutes of planning can provide enormous benefits."

Emergency planning in advance of severe weather situations was also a recent topic at the National Hurricane Conference last month where Lilly Diabetes and ACE showcased the "My Diabetes Emergency Plan" for the second consecutive year. The Conference encouraged emergency planners to discuss strategies for preparing and supporting people during severe weather events and allowed the partnership to showcase available resources to participants, including emergency medical service staff, meteorologists, and city planners.

"Lilly Diabetes is committed to providing real solutions for people with diabetes to help them live better lives, even in emergency situations," said Dr. Jeffrey Jackson, endocrinologist and medical fellow, Lilly Diabetes. "We will continue to provide the tools needed so that people with diabetes can take the steps to prepare themselves in advance."

About the American College of Endocrinology (ACE)
The American College of Endocrinology (ACE) is the educational and scientific arm of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE). ACE is the leader in advancing the care and prevention of endocrine and metabolic disorders by: Providing professional education and reliable public health information; Recognizing excellence in education, research and service; Promoting clinical research and Defining the future of Clinical Endocrinology. For more information, please visit www.aace.com.

About Lilly Diabetes
Lilly has been a global leader in diabetes care since 1923, when we introduced the world's first commercial insulin. Today we work to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes through research and collaboration, a broad and growing product portfolio and a continued commitment to providing real solutions—from medicines to support programs and more—to make lives better. For more information, visit www.lillydiabetes.com.

About Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY)
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels.

P-LLY

¹ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2012/20120710_stateoftheclimatereport.html. Accessed May 8, 2014.

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