Nov 14, 2009

DiabeticConnect.com, Now the World's Largest Online Diabetes Community, Leads the Fight Against Diabetes on World Diabet

SALT LAKE CITY - (BUSINESS WIRE) - In connection with World Diabetes Day (Nov. 14, 2009), Alliance Health Networks today announced that DiabeticConnect.com is now the world's largest online community for people living with diabetes.

 

 

"With World Diabetes Day happening tomorrow, we're excited to announce that our online community DiabeticConnect.com is proving to be a hugely informative and supportive destination for helping people with diabetes around the country and around the world," said Stead Burwell, chief executive officer of Alliance Health Networks, creator of DiabeticConnect.com. "Being the largest means that we have created more connections and more opportunities for diabetics of all types - type 1, type 2, LADA, and more - to find information and support to help them live healthier lives."

 

 

Alliance Health began actively marketing DiabeticConnect.com to diabetics across the country in April 2009. In the short time since, DiabeticConnect.com has reached more than 65,000 registered community members and achieved more than 1 million monthly unique visitors.

 

Unlike other social networks designed for the masses, Alliance Health has opted to create its own social networking platform and tools that uniquely serve the needs of a health community and can be easily adapted to focus on a specific condition or disease. This social health network platform, on which DiabeticConnect.com is built, helps bring together into one online community:

• Individuals with the disease or medical condition,
• Their family members, loved ones and friends (called "caregivers" on the site), and
• Healthcare professionals and providers.

 

"People are coming together at DiabeticConnect.com to learn, support and teach one another," Burwell said. "It's crowd-sourcing in real life, where the sum of the knowledge and experience of all of the Diabetic Connect members is far, far greater than their individual knowledge and experience. And given that World Diabetes Day is focused on diabetes education and prevention, we respectfully invite anyone living with diabetes to become part of the fastest growing (and largest) online network for diabetics, their caregivers and their healthcare providers."

 

DiabeticConnect.com Overview

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 23.6 million Americans have diabetes, making diabetes one of the most prevalent chronic diseases or conditions in the United States.

 

DiabeticConnect.com members can create their own member profile where they control the information they choose to make public or keep private. Individuals can then become friends with others on the network, share news and information, and search for answers to specific questions. Additionally, DiabeticConnect.com community features include:

• discussion boards,
• a diabetes news and aggregator service,
• an event calendar,
• videos,
• book club,
• product reviews and information, and
• a recipe section (since diet is critical for controlling diabetes).

 

Each new member of DiabeticConnect.com is also automatically befriended by a Patient Advocate (Amy Tenderich, a Type 1 diabetic, author and blogger) and a Caregiver Advocate (John Crowley, father of a son with juvenile diabetes).

 

"Although all the signs were there - thirsty all the time, sporadically blurry vision, rapid weight loss - I felt totally blindsided by my diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes just after the birth of our third daughter," Tenderich said. "I now live with the finger pricks, the insulin injections, the continual worry about food and exercise, but I've learned to manage a balanced and happy life.

 

"Staying on top of diabetes takes work; that's why I've always looked for ways to connect with other diabetics: to learn from them and their families and caregivers, to find and share the best information with them. That's also why I love DiabeticConnect.com. It's a fantastic resource for diabetics, their loved ones and medical professionals, too."

 

Alliance Health Networks has several new social health networks in development, an effort it feels crucial since most individuals with a chronic disease or health issue have multiple medical conditions.

 

"At an annual cost of more than $1.9 trillion, healthcare is one of the biggest issues facing America today," Burwell said. "We will continue use the power of the social health networks to unite people who are each struggling with health conditions, to further educate and empower them with news, information and a growing and vibrant online community support group. This is what we have done (and will continue to do) with DiabeticConnect.com, an effort I know is critical for the millions of people living with diabetes every day."

 

About World Diabetes Day

 

Launched by the International Diabetes Foundation, the World Diabetes Day theme for 2009-2013 is "Diabetes Education and Prevention." The campaign calls on all those responsible for diabetes care to understand diabetes and take control. For people with diabetes, this is a message about empowerment through education. For governments, it is a call to implement effective strategies and policies for the prevention and management of diabetes to safeguard the health of their citizens with and at risk of diabetes. For healthcare professionals, it is a call to improve knowledge so that evidence-based recommendations are put into practice. For the general public, it is a call to understand the serious impact of diabetes and know, where possible, how to avoid or delay diabetes and its complications.

 

About Alliance Health Networks, Inc.

 

Alliance Health is building a universe of social health networks that unite individuals and market participants in online communities, each focused on a specific health condition. Its first social health network, DiabeticConnect.com, has attracted the largest online population of people living with or treating diabetes. Alliance Health properties serve more than 65,000 registered members, providing tools and services specifically designed to help members share insightful information and meaningful experiences with one another. For more information, call (801) 355-6002 or please visit www.AllianceHealth.com and/or www.DiabeticConnect.com.

 

Alliance Health Networks and DiabeticConnect.com are trademarks of Alliance Health Networks, Inc. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

 

 

For Alliance Health Networks
Politis Communications
David Politis
801-523-3730(w)
801-556-8184(c)
dpolitis@politis.com