October 29, 2019 Issue, Page 5 of 14

Page Text

Page 4 The Elk City News, Elk City, Oklahoma Tuesday, October 29, 2019 November Is Diabetes Opinion Page “ElkCituNews Dear Corporate Awareness Month Serving Western Oklahoma since 1901 By Susan Hull, M.D. 14.3 percent today. As our history. If you have already been America November is National Di- state continues this negative Common symptoms for diagnosed with diabetes, diet abetes Month; however, for trend, it’s important that we diabetes include frequent and exercise are still vital, almost a half-million Okla- all recognize the causes of urination and thirst, extreme but you must also monitor By Ed Townley homans, every day is dia- this serious disease as well fatigue, blurry vision, cuts your blood sugar and insulin There’s a sea change underway in corporate America. betes day. In fact, according as take steps to prevent and and bruises that are slow to For decades, top executives preached the gospel of to the American Diabetes control diabetes. heal, unusual weight loss levels regularly. Fortunately, Gordon Gekko, proudly declaring “greed is good.” They Association, over 451,000 The latest science indi- (Type 1) or tingling, pain or this has become easier with happily outsourced jobs, price gouged customers, and de- Oklahomans have diabetes cates genetics can play a role numbness in hands or feet recent technological advane- spoiled the environment -- anything to maximize share- and more than a million are in the development of both (Type 2). es such as continuous glu- holder value. pre-diabetic. Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The best way to check cose monitoring meters and But now, executives admit this rapacious behavior isn’t Diabetes is a disease that However, the two have dif- your risk for this disease is to insulin pumps. sustainable. In August, the Business Roundtable, an asso- tends to complicate other ferences in regard to symp- ask your doctor for an AIC health issues. For example, toms and causes. For exam- blood test. This test offers a Diabetes is manageable ciation of top CEOs, pledged to advance the interests of not only are diabetics almost ple, both diseases result in picture of your blood sugar with the right care plan in workers, customers, local communities, and the environ- ment, not just shareholders. twice as likely to die from high sugar levels, however, levels over the past two or place. As always, if you This promise is encouraging. But anyone can issue feel- stroke or heart diseases than those with Type 1 diabetes three months, and the level have questions, visit with good press releases. CEOs can demonstrate they’re serious those without diabetes, but don’t produce insulin at all, of blood sugar found can your primary care physician by transforming their firms into “B corporations,” which they are at a higher risk for while those with Type 2 dia- indicate whether you have and others on your diabetes kidney disease, high blood betes can produce insulin, normal sugar levels, are pre- legally bind themselves to the common good. Making this care team, such as your en- transition isn’t merely the right thing to do; it’d also im- pressure, skin ailments and but the body may not be able diabetic or even diabetic. docrinologist, dentist and vision problems. In particu- to produce enough or use it If you are pre-diabetic, I prove long-term financial performance. ophthalmologist. lar, take good care of your effectively. encourage you to visit with Becoming a B corporation isn’t easy -- but it proves com- panies’ commitment to sustainability beyond a shadow of feet, checking them daily Type 1 diabetes is not pre- your physician about diabe- Susan Hull, M.D., is an for sores or cuts as compli- ventable, but complications tes prevention and lifestyle internal medicine physician a doubt. Aspiring B corporations first apply to B Lab, a cations from diabetes can can be controlled by closely changes that can help lower based in Waynoka and is co- nonprofit that grades how applicants treat their employees, contribute to dangerous in- monitoring blood sugar, tak- or control your blood sugar. chair of the Oklahoma State communities, and the environment on a scale of 1 to 200. fections. ing medicine, exercising and Symptoms can be controlled Medical Association's Rural B Lab then helps applicants develop customized improve- The percentage of Okla- following a recommended by eating a diet low in sugar ment plans. homans with diabetes has diet. A much more common and carbohydrates, exercis- Section. This column is part grown significantly in recent form of diabetes, Type 2 is ing, maintaining a healthy of OSMA’s ongoing mission These firms also reincorporate as benefit companies or revise their articles of incorporation to reflect their new le- years, climbing from 2.9 per- often caused by a combina- weight and if needed, medi- to encourage better health gal responsibilities towards all stakeholders, not just share- cent in 1996 to an estimated tion of lifestyle and family cation. for all Oklahomans. holders. To retain this coveted designation, B corporations Honoring individuals who undergo reassessments every three years. When firms put people before short-term profits, they of- ten outperform traditional corporations in the long run. That’s largely because today’s consumers frown upon corporate greed. Seventy-five percent of Americans say they won’t shop at companies that don’t reflect their val- ues. And 65 percent do their own research to verify firms’ put children first social and environmental claims. advocate for children to this OICA was honored to Many shoppers deliberately patronize companies that day. present the Stephen A. advance the greater good. Just look at Unilever, the mul- The Laura Choate Re- Novick Advocacy Award tinational firm famous for Dove body wash, Lipton tea, silience Award is given to to Martha Cordell, a sup- and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. The company’s “sustainable” someone who endures trau- porter of Tulsa Lawyers for brands are growing 30 percent faster than its other brands. ma as a child but who rises Children. In addition to rep- Ben & Jerry’s, for example, has tripled revenue since 2000 above that trauma to make a resenting abused children, positive impact for Oklaho- she supported a two-year while increasing its social and environmental advocacy. ma’s children. The OICA se- research project to identify Or look how consumers have rewarded cosmetics com- lection committee was proud how to improve legal rep- pany Natura, which became the world’s largest B corpora- to give this award to Joyce resentation for children in tion in 2014. Since revising its corporate articles to serve foster care. We are very Rock, a specialist with the all stakeholders, its share price has doubled. grateful to Martha for her Oklahoma State Department These aren’t anomalies. In the United Kingdom, B cor- OICA CEO Joe Dorman, Martha Cordell and Steven dedication to Oklahoma’s of Education who found her- porations are growing 28 times faster than the economy as Novick. Photo submitted. self in a generational cycle children. a whole. Next week, I will share B corporations heavily invest in their local communities. By Oklahoma Institute part of our job is to shine a of poverty, becoming preg- with you the winners of the Consider my company, Cabot Creamery, the first dairy for Child Advocacy CEO light on that work. At our nant as a teenager. She had Melvin and Jasmine Moran someone believe in her and co-op to become a certified B corporation. We send free Joe Dorman Fall Forum, held earlier this Kidizenship Award. This resources and samples to local parent-teacher events and The Oklahoma Institute month, we did just that by encourage her, which led award, created as a way to her to become a teacher. She fundraisers. Such goodwill gestures engender long-term for Child Advocacy (OICA) presenting two awards to then went on to work for the recognize the dedication of customer loyalty and help us retain employees, who live in exists to help improve con- individuals whose efforts on young Oklahomans who state in some of the most these communities, after all. ditions for children and to behalf of children are inspir- help other young Oklaho- high-risk school districts to No Business Roundtable members have taken the B cor- promote their well-being. It ing. become that a role model mans, carries on in the tradi- poration plunge yet. But there’s no reason for their CEOs to is a broad mission, which The first award we handed for countless young Okla- tion of the Kids Who Care hesitate. As numerous B corporations have proved, sustain- means we are active on out was the Laura Choate homans. We are inspired by Award, presented by KOCO ability needn’t come at the expense of profitability. many fronts: educating the Resilience Award. For those her story and proud to high- Channel 5 and the Junior Ed Townley is CEO of Cabot Creamery Co-op. public and lawmakers about of you who do not know her light her achievements. League of Oklahoma City. our issues, helping to craftstory, Laura was a child in Our next award was es- Our goal is to highlight the policy solutions and push Oklahoma’s juvenile justice tablished to recognize an great work done by those un- Four tips for legislation, training advo- system in the late 1970s. unsung hero in child advo- der the age of 18 to make our cates, and in some cases Like many children in her cacy. The Steven A. Novick state a better place. There are many ways to position, she was physically Advocacy Award was cre- flu season (like OKFoster Wishes, our help children, but one of holiday gift-drive for foster abused within that system ated to highlight the work of them is to simply recognize kids), directly providing ser- and left traumatized. But someone who dedicates their and reward the good work By Greg Frank, Ph.D. helps makes the flu less se- vices and resources to chil- Laura persevered, becom- life to making the lives of being done on their behalf. You know the signs. The vere for those who do catch dren. ing a plaintiff in the “Terry children better. Mr. Novick Our hope at OICA is that by thunderous cough. The it. Sometimes, however, our D.” lawsuit against the state was the attorney who pushed bringing attention to these pounding headache. The The CDC recommends role is less direct, although which brought to light wide- forward with the “Terry D” dedicated and selfless indi- full-body fatigue. obtaining a flu shot no later just as rewarding. There are spread abuses and helped to Lawsuit in which Laura viduals we are able to inspire It’s the flu. Last fall and than the end of October. many individuals in the state transform and dramatically Choate was a plaintiff. His others to follow in their foot- winter, influenza sickened The treatment takes around outside of OICA who are do- improve conditions for chil- legal success restructured steps and accomplish great roughly 40 million Ameri- two weeks to become fully ing excellent work on behalf dren in state custody. She how state government treat- things on behalf of Oklaho- cans and killed 60,000, ac- effective, so there’s no time of children, and we think continues to be a passionate ed justice-involved youth. ma’s kids. cording to the Centers for to waste. Disease Control and Pre- 2. Your mom was right: otics won’ t help. Influenza is risk of future infections. It To fight these superbugs, tives for new treatments, the vention. Tf you do fall ill, remem- caused by a virus. Antibiot- gives bacteria an opportu- Congress is currently con- DISARM Act could save This year’s flu season is ber your mother’s advice. ics, which only treat bacteri- nity to evolve and become sidering the Developing an thousands of lives. nearly upon us. Here are Drink lots of fluids. Juice, al infections, are completely immune to treatments -- a Innovative Strategy for An- So remember -- get your four tips to stay healthy. Gatorade, herbal teas, and useless against viruses. phenomenon known as “an- timicrobial Resistant Micro- shots early, follow your 1. An ounce of prevention chicken soup can help Not all patients realize timicrobial resistance.” organisms Act, or DISARM. mother’s advice, and don’t is worth a pound of cure. fight dehydration. Menthol this. Many clamor for antibi- 4. Antibiotics come with This bill would incentivize jeopardize your health by People should get the flu ointments and humidifiers otics at the first sign of flu- risks. Antibiotic overuse ac- hospitals to use antibiotics needlessly taking antibiot- vaccine early. Every year, break up mucus and make like symptoms. celerates the spread of drug- appropriately and sparingly. ics. this shot prevents up to 6.7 it easier to breathe. These Such antibiotics won’t resistant bacteria known as It would also encourage re- Greg Frank, Ph.D., is the million flu cases, 87,000 treatments aren’t fancy, but make people feel any better. “superbugs,” which already searchers to develop new director of infectious disease hospitalizations, and 10,000 they provide real relief. In fact, needlessly taking an- kill over 160,000 Americans antibiotics. Along with a policy at the Biotechnology deaths. The vaccine also 3. Remember that antibi- tibiotics increases people’s every year. package of market incen- Innovation Organization.