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The Florida Alliance for Diabetes Prevention and Care

The Alliance is a statewide, grassroots partnership promoting diabetes prevention, education, and care issues. Membership in the Alliance is free and open to individuals and organizations who are committed to improving Florida's diabetes health system through community-level actions.

The Alliance's executive committee has a leadership role in accomplishing objectives that complement the goals of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP) and the Diabetes Advisory Council. The executive committee, which is called the Leadership Council, has 15 members. Nine members are elected by Alliance members; six are appointed by the DPCP. Officers are elected by the Leadership Council: the Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, and the chairs of four standing committees - Community Partnerships, Communications, Education, and Data/Information. A liaison to the Diabetes Advisory Council (DAC) is appointed by the DPCP.

Leadership Council Officers

Chair: Rosa M. Carranza, CDE, Little Havana Education and Nutrition Centers
Chair-Elect: Barbara Jacobowitz, MSPH, Treasure Coast Health Council
Past Chair: Phyllis Bruno, MSN, RN, CDE, Cleveland Clinic of Florida
Community Partnerships Chair: Kathy Mulcahy, RN, MSN, CDE, Amylin
Education Chair: Michael Gervasi, DO, Florida Community Health Centers, Inc.
Communications Chair: Nicole Johnson, MPH, University of South Florida Diabetes Center
DAC Liaison: Pauline Lowe, American Diabetes Association
Secretary: Rita Diaz-Kenney, MPH, RD, LD, Concerned Citizen

Membership

Florida Alliance for Diabetes Prevention and Care logo -- Graphic of four hands reaching across the State of Florida

The Alliance has three membership levels, based on degree of participation:

Leadership Council members are elected from the Alliance membership in accordance with the Alliance by-laws. Leadership Council members also participate in committee and local-level activities.

Committee members are active participants of at least one standing committee. (Note: The data committee is currently inactive. The DPCP supports the data needs of the Alliance.) Committee members also participate in local-level activities of the general membership.

General membership is comprised of members who are active in their communities in promoting diabetes prevention, education, and care. They work locally to improve the state diabetes health system. Alliance members receive announcements of educational and networking opportunities, such as the annual Educational Forum-General Membership meeting. They may choose to be included in a directory of members to increase networking possibilities and collaboration.

Members of the Alliance are also encouraged to join one of three Life Stage Work Groups. Alliance members, DAC members, and DPCP staff participate on these work groups to address diabetes issues effecting children, adults, and seniors.

Become an Alliance Member

Do you want to get involved in preventing and controlling diabetes? If so, just complete the Membership Form today!

Standing Committees
Standing committees meet via monthly conference calls and may meet in person at the Leadership Council quarterly meetings.

Community Partnerships Committee - Conference calls are scheduled for the fourth Thursday of the month from Noon - 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. This committee's goal is to achieve membership in the Alliance in all 67 counties in Florida. They also have the lead on developing regional champions who will coordinate Alliance activities in their county or multi-county area. If you are interested in becoming a regional champion, please contact us.

Data/Information Committee - The Data/Information Committee is currently inactive. However, the following information was compiled by this committee: The following information was compiled by this committee:

Education Committee - Conference calls are scheduled for the first Monday of the month from Noon - 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. The Education Committee plans and conducts the annual Educational Forum. This involves a passionate commitment from the local planning committee, which is appreciated and always results in a top-notch event. Members of the Education Committee also were instrumental in developing the Diabetes Self-Management Education Mentoring Program. This program provides funding and mentoring assistance through mini-grant awards to help organizations submit their DSME programs for national recognition. Recognition enables organizations to receive reimbursement for their services and increases access to quality DSME. Currently, two programs are being funded: Duval County Health Department and Putnam County Health Department.

Communications Committee - Conference calls are scheduled for the third Tuesday of the month from 11:00 a.m. - Noon Eastern time. The Communications Committee is developing the Alliance Action Toolkit, a community mobilization kit with tips for involving various members of the community. The toolkit will be posted here when completed. Another project of the Communications Committee is the Alliance Action Newsletter. The inaugural edition will be posted here soon.

Strategic Plan

The Florida Diabetes Health System strategic plan (PDF 313 KB) was updated in November 2009.  The Life Stage Work Groups indicated as having lead responsibility will be replaced by committees once the new combined committee structure of the Alliance and the Diabetes Advisory Council is adopted.

Meeting Minutes

Minutes of Leadership Council meetings, Alliance committee meetings, and Life Stage Work Group meetings are provided. If a document is draft, the text might change in the final version. Diabetes Advisory Council (DAC) minutes, including DAC committee meeting minutes, are posted on the DAC page (with link to the DAC page). When the new combined committee structure is adopted, DAC and Leadership Council meetings will be combined and the minutes will be found in a new, easily accessible location on the website.

Upcoming Meetings and Conference Calls

The Leadership Council meets quarterly. Beginning with the adoption of the new committee structure currently being reviewed by partners, the Leadership Council and the Diabetes Advisory Council will hold joint (Diabetes Core Leadership) quarterly meetings and committee conference calls. The proposed schedule of the Diabetes Core Leadership meetings for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 is:

  • First Quarter: September 23, 2010: Diabetes Core Leadership Meeting, 10AM - 4:45PM Tampa
  • Second Quarter: November 2010 (dates not yet scheduled): Strategic Planning Meeting, 2 days, Tampa
  • Third Quarter: January 12, 2011: Diabetes Core Leadership Meeting via webex/conference call, 9:30AM - 1:30PM
  • Fourth Quarter: April 6, 2011: Diabetes Core Leadership Meeting, 8:30AM - 3:15PM Tallahassee
The First Quarter meeting is held in different locations around the state in conjunction with the annual Alliance general membership meeting/Educational Forum. The Second Quarter meeting is a strategic planning meeting for all partners in Florida's diabetes health system. It is held in Tampa. To be as efficient as possible with travel funds, the Third Quarter meeting will be held via webex/conference call, and the Fourth Quarter meeting will be held in Tallahassee.

Note: Files are provided in the Portable Document Format or PDF. You may need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and/or print it.