ST. LOUIS – Independent physician group Esse Health does more than care for patients with diabetes. On Saturday, Oct. 13, Esse Health’s employees, family members and patients walked at the American Diabetes Association’s annual St. Louis Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes. Esse Health registered more than 300 walkers and raised more than $7,000 to help the ADA provide community-based education programs, protect the rights of people with diabetes and fund critical research for a cure.

“There is a diabetes epidemic in the country and worldwide. Our employees, patients and our family members have it,” said Dr. Kathleen Brunts, Esse Health physician and leader of the Esse Health Diabetes Wellness Program. “We see children and adults with diabetes at all of our offices that team up with us to keep them healthy. The work the ADA is doing to help stop diabetes is crucial, and I’m humbled that we can support the organization and all of those living with diabetes.”

Esse Health also had a tent at the event, where employees provided first aid and blood glucose testing. Photos from the Walk can be found at the following links:

  • http://flic.kr/p/dkhDsA - Esse Health CEO Mike Castellano and employee Lisa Martin ran the Wheel of Trivia, where participants answer trivia questions about St. Louis, St. Louis sports, diabetes, and health and wellness.
  • http://flic.kr/p/dkhDBd - Registered dietitians Marjorie Maxwell and Mindy Musselman take a break from blood glucose tests to smile for the camera.
  • http://flic.kr/p/dkhDz9 - A few walk participants stop by Esse Health’s tent.
  • http://flic.kr/p/dkhBQn - Esse Health employees Regina Doswell and Tammy Ham oversee the kids’ area, where kids could decorate bags with stamps.

Esse Health is an independent, St. Louis-based physician group that strives to improve the overall well-being of its patients through patient education, lifestyle modification and prevention. With 33 locations throughout the St. Louis and Metro East area, Esse Health’s services include asthma, allergy and immunology, family medicine, internal medicine, nutrition, pediatrics, radiology and urology. Esse Health is recognized as a leader in using technology in health care and physician accountability for both quality and cost-of-care. For more information on Esse Health, visit www.essehealth.com.

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