UW News

August 22, 2002

Diabetes recognition awards program at Kane Hall Sept. 14

People who have been living with diabetes 25, 50, 60 or more years will be honored at the first UW Purple and Gold Diabetes Recognition Awards ceremony at 9 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 14, in Kane Hall. The ceremony for over 100 award winners and their families is the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

“This award ceremony, honoring people who have lived successfully with diabetes for such a long time, is also for younger people,” says Dr. Irl Hirsch, co-director of the Diabetes Care Center at UW Medical Center. “This program will show young adults, children and their families that the outlook for long-term survival of diabetes is excellent. When these people being honored were diagnosed 50 years ago, they were often told they couldn’t expect to survive very long.”

The event’s keynote speaker will be Dr. Michael Bliss, the author of The Discovery of Insulin.