Thank you very much for the opportunity to present today.
I thought I would start off sharing some of the calls we are receiving on our information line from people looking for help.
One example is a woman who phoned us about her father, who is an insulin-dependent, type 2 person with diabetes. He was living in a long-term care home, and she had concerns, as we've heard today, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our caller wanted to bring her father home to live with her, but she needed advice on how to manage his diabetes.
Another woman with type 1 diabetes who struggles to keep her blood sugar within the recommended range reached out to us. She works in maintenance in a hospital and she and her physician were worried about her risk. Despite the advice of her medical team, her employer refused to modify her work arrangements so that she could reduce the risk of catching COVID-19. We needed to help her convince her employer to make accommodations.
We also heard of someone who had just been diagnosed with diabetes and had been released from hospital. A new diagnosis of diabetes is overwhelming at the best of times, but especially in this environment. Discharged with insufficient information and support, this person was scared and confused and uncertain of what to do with their diet, their medications and glucose monitoring.
Countless other people have reached out to us, people who have problems with their injection site or have to manage their diabetes with added problems, such as kidney disease.
What I'm saying is that we've seen a significant increase in demand for Diabetes Canada's services.
Diabetes is a large and growing burden in Canada. Diabetes, as you know, is a leading cause of heart attacks, stroke, kidney disease, vision loss and amputation. Treating the disease will cost our health care system over $40 billion a year. It's a disease that disproportionately burdens vulnerable Canadians, including newcomers, indigenous peoples, seniors and those with lower incomes.
In a moment, we’ll talk about how the pandemic has posed an even larger threat to people living with diabetes and associated conditions, but I want to share with you some of the examples of how it has impacted Diabetes Canada.
Physical distancing measures and the economic impact of the pandemic have reduced Diabetes Canada’s revenue by more than 50%, like a lot of charities. We had to temporarily lay off more than 50% of our staff. Some of them we've been able to bring back because of the CEWS program, and we appreciate that, but we won't be able to keep them. Our revenues will continue to be negatively impacted by the pandemic for the foreseeable future. That directly affects our ability to serve people affected by diabetes.
However, the needs of people with diabetes for trustworthy information, education and advocacy are even greater than ever before, and we are rising to meet that challenge. We are providing timely and evidence-based resources and tools to our community about diabetes and COVID-19, including a frequently updated website, weekly “Ask the Experts” videos, webinars in 12 of Canada's most commonly spoken languages and educational webinars for health care providers. We are providing patient resources and supports via our 1-800-BANTING line, where people can get personalized, expert medical advice from diabetes educators.
We are also collaborating with governments at all levels during this pandemic to support health policy development and implementation, to ensure that diabetes medications, supplies—