On Friday, March 16, 2001 the US Postal Service and the Diabetes Treatment Center at Raleigh Community Hospital will unveil the new postage stamp highlighting diabetes awareness at 1:30pm in the Medical Office Building, 3404 Wake Forest Road, on the campus of Raleigh Community Hospital.

Present at the unveiling will be Felix DeSantis, Raleigh Postmaster, Shawnee Weir, MD of Raleigh Endocrine Associates, and 10 year-old diabetes patient, Jessica Jewell. Jewell has Type 1 diabetes and started on an insulin pump this past year at the Diabetes Treatment Center at Raleigh Community Hospital.

"We are pleased that the Post Office has created this stamp to heighten awareness about diabetes and the long term complications associated with the disease. Raleigh Community Hospital has made the commitment to providing education and resources for the treatment of this disease through its Diabetes Treatment Center. The DTC is the only American Diabetes Association certified education program and the only provider of insulin pump training in Wake County," stated Stacey Armistead, Diabetes Treatment Center Program Director.

More than 16 million people in the United States have this life threatening disease, and about one third of them are undiagnosed. In North Carolina, over 270,000 adults have been diagnosed with the disease. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, amputation, heart attack, stroke and kidney failure - and it accounts for more than $105 billion of annual US healthcare costs. There is no cure, but there is hope through education and research.

Raleigh Community Hospital a 218-bed acute care facility located one block north of the beltline on Wake Forest Road in North Raleigh. Raleigh Community Hospital is part of the Duke University Health System. A full-service acute care hospital, RCH's range of services includes a 24-hour Emergency Department, Intensive and Critical Care, Child Birth Center, Rehabilitation, Newborn Hearing Screening, Diabetes Treatment Center, Senior Health Center and community education.