Senate Appropriations Committee Gives Unanimous Approval to Diabetes Center Bill

Oklahoma is poised to create the nation’s top research and treatment center for diabetes. That’s according to OU President David Boren who addressed the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of Senate Bill 1056. The measure, co-authored by Sen. Cal Hobson and Sen. Glenn Coffee would help fund the start up cost for creating two facilities based on the OU campuses in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The committee gave its unanimous support to the measure.

Boren told the Senators that he began educating himself about diabetes after he had a health emergency last year due to the disease.

“One of the things I found was that the State of Oklahoma, unfortunately, ranks first in the nation per capita in terms of our population and the incidence of diabetes in this country,” said Boren. “But this is moving, in not only our state but all across the country, in epidemic proportions.”

Boren told the committee they are looking at start up funds of $15 million, with $10 to $12 million of that going to pay for the actual bricks and mortar and $3 to $5 million for operations, researchers and matching grants. The facility would provide critical care treatment, conduct research and provide outreach programs for medical centers around the state.

“One of the things people may not realize is just how greatly this impacts the health of our citizens. We heard testimony that diabetes is the number one cause of heart disease, the number one cause of the loss of limbs, the number one cause of adult blindness and kidney failure as well,” said Hobson, D-Lexington. “I don’t now how you can begin to project the actual cost to our state in terms of dollars, or in terms of personal devastation. This clearly is a health crisis that we should address.”

Diabetes is an even greater problem for Native Americans who are at greater risk to becoming diabetic than other populations. Boren said as a result, several tribes in the state have offered to partner in the project.

Sen. Coffee agreed that Oklahoma needed to take advantage of the opportunity to create a world-class diabetes treatment and research facility.

“President Boren shared that the annual economic impact of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Treatment Center in Houston and affiliated medical facilities was $7 billion a year. That’s more than our entire state budget for the current fiscal year. In terms of being able to create a healthier state and economic benefits, this would be tremendous for Oklahoma,” said Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.

The measure now moves to the full Senate for further consideration.