Yvette Roubideaux Honored With American Diabetes Association's Distinguished Service Achievement Award

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 07 Dec 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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The American Diabetes Association, the nation's largest and leading voluntary health organization in the fight against diabetes, announced today that Yvette Roubideaux, MD, MPH, of Tucson, Arizona, received the Association's prestigious Addison B. Scoville Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. The award was presented at the organization's Community Volunteer Leadership Conference on November 23 in Tampa, Florida.

The Addison B. Scoville Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service is named for Dr. Addison B. Scoville, former President of the American Diabetes Association, and is given for outstanding service by a board or committee member.

"The American Diabetes Association is pleased to present this esteemed award to Dr. Roubideaux," stated R. Stewart Perry, Chair of the Board, American Diabetes Association. "Her contributions to the diabetes community stretches over many years and her continued dedication to diabetes awareness directly support the American Diabetes Association's mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people living with diabetes."

Dr. Roubideaux received her Bachelors of Art, Master of Public Health, and Medical degree all from Harvard University. She has since dedicated her career to improving American Indian health care through education and research, focusing on diabetes as a pervasive chronic disease. In 2001 she co-edited a book on Indian health policy with Mim Dixon, Ph.D., entitled "Promises to Keep: Public Health Policy for American Indians and Alaska Natives in the 21st Century."

Dr. Roubideaux is a long-time American Diabetes Association volunteer with a diabetes background that includes advocacy, research, teaching, and program development in American Indian communities and Indian health policy. Dr. Roubideaux chairs the Association's Awakening the Spirit Team, which recently took a leadership role in the victories surrounding the three-year extension of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians and the Special Statutory Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research. She has worked on a number of national committees related to diabetes, including the National Diabetes Education Program Steering Committee and the American Indian Campaign.

Currently, Dr. Roubideaux is an assistant professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Diabetes is a serious disease that affects the body's ability to produce or respond properly to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy. Diabetes is growing at an alarming rate with nearly 24 million children and adults living with this disease and another 57 million Americans at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight against the deadly consequences of diabetes and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, our mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit http://www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

American Diabetes Association