(Garden City, NY) Based Armao LLP exceeded the firm’s fundraising goal at the Sunday, September 29, 2013 “Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes” on the Jones Beach boardwalk. This is the group’s third year walking and fundraising. According to team co-leader, Rosa Arreaga-Negron, CPA, CFE, “My mother, Rosa Zambrano, has lived with diabetes for many years.
The support of my co-workers, along with their families and friends, is very meaningful to me and my mother. She relies on insulin injections, diet and exercise to control the disease. However, it has been a difficult adjustment for her to live what most people consider a normal life.”
Left to right (adults): Richard Benito, Aleeta Benito, Felipe Sabino, Justin Allen, James Santana, Salvatore Armao, Terri-Ann Santana-Farrugia, Karen Auer, Rosa Arreaga-Negron. Children: In strollers: Gabriella Auer and Rey Negron; Standing: Julia Auer.
According to the American Diabetes Association website, 25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3% of the population—have diabetes. Some startling statistics:
- $245 billion: Total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2012
- $176 billion for direct medical costs
- $69 billion in reduced productivity
- After adjusting for population age and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes
Added Managing Partner Salvatore J. Armao, “We are proud to do our part in the effort to conquer diabetes. We decided to team up to change the future and make a positive impact in the lives of those who are affected by it. We are committed to walk because we personally know some of those fighting this disease and want to do something about it.”
