In support of World Diabetes Day earlier this month, Ascensia Diabetes Care published 30 portraits of women who are working to advance diabetes care.
The company’s CEO, Michael Kloss, said he was inspired by the theme of this year’s annual event, Women and Diabetes, and turned within the company for nominations of inspiring women.
“We initially looked for about 10 – 12 images of women and we were very happy that we got 30 nominations, so we decided to take all of them. It’s really a broad spectrum of inspiring women who have made a major impact on the field of diabetes, including internal contributors who really made a difference to our teams,” he told Drug Delivery Business News.
Among the women featured in this collection are Rosa Almeida, a Type I diabetic who has worked in the diabetes arena for 13 years, and Elsa Soto, who was diagnosed with gestational diabetes four years ago. Both Soto and Almedia are Ascensia employees.
All of the portraits were individually painted by artists using tablets, Kloss said. Women from within Ascensia are featured in the collection, as well as advocates and healthcare workers from around the world.
Notably, the portrait of Helen Free is featured prominently on the company’s display page. Free invented the technology used to make the first indicator to detect glucose in 1956.
“The accomplishments of this diverse and impactful group of women are incredible and between them they have made enormous contributions to the field of diabetes. However, we shouldn’t forget the many women who are not part of this campaign. The women who have been profiled here, represent the millions of patients, doctors, nurses, researchers, caregivers and advocates who work tirelessly each and every day to advance the treatment and management of diabetes,” Kloss said in a prepared statement.
