UCI Health designated Recognized Leader in Caring for People Living with Diabetes by Leapfrog, American Diabetes Association

Highlights a high level of inpatient care for those with chronic condition  

Orange, Calif. — UCI Health has been designated a Recognized Leader in Caring for People Living with Diabetes by The Leapfrog Group and the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

UCI Medical Center, now known as UCI Health — Orange, is one of just 33 hospitals in the country to earn the award, which highlights the critical and complex inpatient care that UCI Health and its diabetes programs provide to patients.

Established in 2024, the first-of-its-kind national recognition program honors acute and specialty care hospitals that provide safe and high-quality care for patients living with diabetes. It measures adherence to national, evidence-based diabetes care guidelines for clinical programs that improve patient safety and overall health outcomes.

“This recognition highlights the impact of our inpatient diabetes program in reducing complications and improving overall health of our patients,” said Dr. Joseph C. Carmichael, UCI Health chief medical officer and senior vice president. “It also reinforces our ongoing collaboration with UCI-OC Alliance to advance health and well-being for our Latino community, which is disproportionately affected by diabetes.”

Increasing access, focusing on prevention

According to the ADA, 37 million people in the U.S. live with diabetes and 8 million people are admitted to the hospital with disease-related complications. Inequity in access to high-quality healthcare increases the incidence of disease and risk of injury, infection and amputation as a result of the condition.

In 2023, UC Irvine partnered with the alliance, which is aimed at combating the disease in Orange County’s Latino community. 

Attendees of diabetes group medical visits at the UCI Health Family Health Center ― Anaheim, have made lasting lifestyle changes that have resulted in an average reduction in hemoglobin A1c levels from 8.5% to 7.5% over a follow-up period of slightly more than five months. This is significant and the equivalent of starting a new diabetes medication that can reduce the risk of complications by 40%.

The UCI Health federally qualified health center plans to expand the program to UCI Health Family Health Center — Santa Ana. It is also exploring offering the visits in English to reach broader audiences.

Patients also have access to high-quality inpatient programs that help to identify significant disparities in diabetes care among underserved communities. They improve cardiometabolic risk and overall health outcomes through electronic health record-based intervention.

Learn more about diabetes care at UCI Health.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps for patient safety. The Recognized Leader in Caring for People Living with Diabetes program combines the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) breadth of resources and reach among the diabetes community with Leapfrog’s expertise in measurement, public reporting, and engaging purchasers and the public to use ratings to incentivize excellence.

The Leapfrog Group’s other main initiative, Hospital Safety Grade, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.