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Disclaimer

As of July 2023, the initiative has ended and this website will no longer be updated. We hope our website acts as an archive of the initiative’s efforts.

Please explore and learn about the importance of integrating medical and social care for diabetes!

Who We Are

senior_grandchild_guitarsBridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care brings together the health care sector with other sectors to promote improvements in diabetes care. The University of Chicago serves as the National Program Office for the initiative. The National Program Office supports program efforts of the grantee organizations and provides leadership in building a national public-private partnership to help reduce disparities in diabetes care.

Our History

In 2017, the Merck Foundation funded the Bridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care initiative with a $16 million, five-year commitment to advance cross-sector approaches that improve diabetes outcomes and address health disparities among people with type 2 diabetes in the United States.

Our Mission

To improve access to high-quality diabetes care and reduce disparities in health outcomes among vulnerable and underserved populations with type 2 diabetes in the United States.

Bridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care aims to:

  • Build sustainable partnerships between the health care sector and other sectors to address the medical and social factors that influence health
  • Redesign health care systems, particularly primary care, to improve diabetes care for vulnerable and underserved populations
  • Improve health outcomes for individuals with type 2 diabetes through measures such as better glucose and lipid control
  • Disseminate key findings and lessons learned to advance cross-sector approaches that improve population health and reduce diabetes disparities

Our Program Partners

Eight Bridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care partners across the United States are implementing comprehensive, evidence-based diabetes programs that bring together stakeholders from inside and outside the health care system. Through these collaborations, people living with diabetes can benefit from improved medical care. They can also benefit from efforts to address the social and environmental factors that affect their health.

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The Bridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care Program Partners are:

  • Alameda County Public Health Department
    OAKLAND, CA
  • Clearwater Valley and St. Mary’s Hospitals and Clinics
    OROFINO, ID
  • La Clínica del Pueblo
    WASHINGTON, DC
  • Marshall University
    HUNTINGTON, WV
  • Minneapolis Health Department
    MINNEAPOLIS, MN
  • Providence Health & Services
    PORTLAND, OR
  • Trenton Health Team
    TRENTON, NJ
  • UPMC Western Maryland
    CUMBERLAND, MD

About Merck Foundation

The Merck Foundation is a private charitable foundation based in the United States. Established in 1957 by Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, the Foundation is funded entirely by the company and is Merck’s chief source of financial support for eligible nonprofit organizations and innovative programs that align with our giving focus areas. Since its inception, the Merck Foundation has contributed more than $994 million to support initiatives that address important global health and societal needs. For more information, visit: https://www.merck.com/company-overview/responsibility/philanthropy/

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