Diabetes: it's the seventh leading cause of death, a major cause of heart disease and stroke, and the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney failure, and nontraumatic lower-extremity amputations, responsible for $116 billion in direct medical costs in the United States and $58 billion more in indirect costs, such as disability. Diabetes is an epidemic, with 23.6 million people affected—5.7 million of whom are undiagnosed—and rates that continue to grow. Moreover, diabetes is not a disease that affects all equally: African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaska Natives are twice as likely as white adults to have diabetes. Further, diabetes is more common among those with less education, with disease rates of 15.8% among those without a high school diploma compared with 6.9% among those who attended college. A quarter of all adults aged 60 and older have the disease, and a third of all US children born in 2000 could develop it during their lifetime (1). Statistics for the state of Texas are even worse than the national average: The prevalence of diabetes in Texans aged 18 and older rose to 10.3% in 2007. More than 1.8 million adults in Texas are diabetic, and 460,000 are believed to be undiagnosed. Diabetes rates were 12.9% among African Americans, 12.2% among Hispanics, 11.8% among other minorities, and 8.5% among whites (1). These latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (1) reinforce the need to prevent diabetes and manage it to avoid the worst outcomes for patients. This article provides a brief overview of the patient empowerment model promoted by Baylor Health Care System (BHCS). It then describes BHCS's coordinated efforts for disease management, as well as its new community outreach program and Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute—both projects of the BHCS Office of Health Equity.