Your involvement in the 2008 tournament will help Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute continue to make a difference in patients throughout the region. Your support will help many of the programs and research efforts including:

• Scripps Whittier Diabetes Program is designed to help individuals living with diabetes learn to manage their disease and improve their quality of life. Certified Diabetes Educators (registered nurses and dietitians) offer one on one consultation and an array of education classes at 12 inpatient and outpatient sites in San Diego County. This year Whittier has started an Adult Diabetes Care Clinic which offers medical services provided through Scripps Clinic specialists in the 2nd floor DiabetesResource Center.
• Project Dulce™ is a highly praised diabetes management and education program created in 1997 to address the needs of ethnically diverse and low-income populations. Classes and support groups are provided by peer educators from each cultural group provide critical patient education to their respective communities. This program is partially supported by grants and donations.

• IMPACT was established in 2007 to address the high rate of diabetes patients with moderate to severe depression by integrating depression care with the diabetes management program. This program is partially supported by grants and donations.
• The Childhood Obesity and Diabetes Prevention Program is in direct response to the prediction that half of the Latino and African American children born today will end up with type 2 diabetes. This behavior modification program is aimed at preventing childhood obesity and diabetes among at high-risk families in San Diego, by increasing physical activity and promoting good nutrition.  This program is fully supported by grants and donations.  

• The Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) brings diabetes education, care, and sight-saving programs directly to the community via a custom 40-foot motor coach. Offering services usually available only in doctors' offices, the MMU features two examination rooms, a retinal camera, and other advanced medical equipment, including a digital retinal camera. Also, diabetes prevention programs for elementary schools are conducted with on school sites via the MMU.This program is fully supported by grants and donations. 
• Telemedicine Retinal Screening Program for Underserved Communities The leading cause of blindness in  working-age adults, Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) eventually develops to some degree in all patients with type 1 diabetes and in 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes. In 2005, the Whittier developed a systematic, mobile telemedicine retinal screening program to increase the percentage of underserved diabetic patients and community clinics and free clinics. Over 2,100 patients have been screened in the past three years throughout San Diego County. To further meet the needs of our patients, the program has broadened to also incorporate glaucoma screening and visual acuity testing. This program is fully supported by grants and donations.
• Clinical Research offers diabetes patients an opportunity to participate in nearly a dozen closely-monitored clinical research studies that test how well new medical approaches work in people, before FDA approval.  This program is partially supported by donations.
• Professional Education and Training Programs provide state-of-the-art education and training for practicing health care professionals and laymen who wish to increase their diabetes management knowledge and skills. This program is primarily supported through grants.

• (Pending) Scripps Whittier Children's Center will provide clinical care and education to children with diabetes at the Whittier, in collaboration with Rady Children's Hospital.
• The Whittier Islet Cell Laboratory includes five independent investigators committed to basic and applied research in diabetes.  Located on TWI’s 2nd floor, the UCSD program has produced several breakthroughs in type 1 research.   This program is supported by grants and donors.

Mobile Medical Unit Utilization Opportunities

As a Grand Champion Title Sponsor, Presenting Eagle Sponsor or Tournament Birdie Sponsor, you have the unique opportunity to use Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute’s Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) for a visit to a company event or location. A visit includes: health assessments of BMI (body mass index), blood pressure screenings, American Diabetes Association risk assessment screenings, blood glucose screenings (if a need is indicated though ADA risk assessments), and dietary advice and health information.

This valuable medical outreach visit will last between four and seven hours based on the number of individuals at the visitation site. It may also include up to 20 cholesterol tests (limitation based on time for test and patient review).

Sponsors also have the opportunity to donate their MMU visit back to the San Diego community, while at the same time receiving recognition as an MMU Community Sponsor outside of the golf tournament. With more than seven million people in the U.S. undiagnosed with diabetes, you can help support the only mobile medical unit in California specifically dedicated to caring for people with this disease. Your MMU visit donation could be used to fill one of the many requests The Whittier receives each day.

These requests come from community centers, churches, senior centers and schools that wouldn’t otherwise have access to this vital service.

Awareness is where the cure begins. The need is urgent; if undiagnosed, a person with diabetes is at the highest risk for stroke, heart attack, blindness and amputation. Your kindness could save a life.