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Securing the Future of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center
How You Can Help

"The one center in New York City that has survived is the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center..." "A shift in how insurers reimburse medical providers is necessary before centers can function without large amounts of charity.” New York Times, April 2006

"When compared to its FY2005 budget, the NIH’s FY2006 budget is 3.5 percent below inflation in constant dollar...Of course, the NIH budget cuts will discourage young people from going into the field. But, if the trend continues, it also will drive current researchers from the field." Science, March 2006

The Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center opened in the Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion in October, 1998, as a result of the generosity and inspiration of the trustees of the Russell Berrie Foundation and other friends. Our aim was to create a world-class center for diabetes care and research in New York City. In this time, the Berrie Center has become recognized nationally and internationally for excellence and innovation in patient care and research in diabetes and its allied disorders, and is well on its way to achieving our vision.

Together we share the goal of establishing the Berrie Center as the premier Diabetes Center nationally and internationally, and we ask your help to secure the future for the Berrie Center and to ensure that it will be the best in the world. The research program is very successful in obtaining NIH grants and the clinical program is continuously growing resulting in increasing clinical revenue. However, as described in the quotes above, funds from both the NIH and the insurers are insufficient to allow the Berrie Center to sustain and extend its excellence in these critical areas. To do so, we need ongoing philanthropic support.

We will, course, continue to seek and receive support from the NIH as well as foundations, industry, patient care revenues, our Medical School and our Hospital; but your support can make a critical difference in the level of our success. We hope you will help us.

Unrestricted gifts are used to support both our clinical and research programs, with 50% of the funds going to support the un-reimbursed clinical care of children and adults with diabetes, and 50% dedicated to basic and translational research programs aimed at ultimately curing diabetes.

Major gift opportunities:

  • Young faculty support
  • Faculty recruitment and retention
  • Endowment funds to support professorships, clinical and research programs
  • Children’s diabetes programs including child life and summer camp programs
  • Cellular Therapies of Diabetes research program
  • Adult diabetes programs including programs for pregnant women and caregivers
  • Community outreach and professional education programs
  • Research and clinical equipment fund
  • Translational diabetes research fund

Gifts should be made payable to the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and mailed to:

Jennie Preval
Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center
Columbia University Medical Center
1150 St. Nicholas Ave.
NY, NY 10032

For more information please call Jennie Preval at 212-851-5492.