By Berlanga H.R. No. 209 R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, Diabetes is a devastating disease that poses a 1-2 serious public health problem for many Texans; and 1-3 WHEREAS, Approximately 450,000 persons in Texas have been 1-4 diagnosed with diabetes and another 400,000 have the disease but 1-5 have not yet been diagnosed; and 1-6 WHEREAS, These numbers will steadily rise with an increasing 1-7 population of high-risk Hispanic, Black, and elderly Texans; and 1-8 WHEREAS, Complications such as amputations, blindness, kidney 1-9 failure, heart disease, birth defects, and strokes result from 1-10 uncontrolled diabetes; and 1-11 WHEREAS, Texans pay an estimated $2.7 billion each year for 1-12 treating complications of diabetes, lost income, and costs to 1-13 state-supported medical care programs; and 1-14 WHEREAS, Fifty to sixty percent of complications can be 1-15 prevented with good education about diet, weight, exercise, and 1-16 appropriate patient diabetes education and clinical care; and 1-17 WHEREAS, The Texas Diabetes Council has applied prevention 1-18 techniques in public health settings with programs designed to save 1-19 dollars and human suffering; and 1-20 WHEREAS, The Council's Statewide Diabetic Eye Program has 1-21 been estimated to save $8 for every $1 spent; and 1-22 WHEREAS, The Texas Diabetes Council as mandated by the Texas 1-23 Legislature has completed A Plan to Control Diabetes in Texas for 2-1 the purpose of promoting more effective interventions to help 2-2 reduce illness from diabetes in Texas, to educate the public on the 2-3 problems of diabetes, and to increase public support for essential 2-4 diabetes services; and 2-5 WHEREAS, The American Diabetes Association has cosponsored 2-6 with the Texas Diabetes Council the events of February 9, "Diabetes 2-7 Day at the Capitol," to call attention to this growing health care 2-8 problem in our state; and 2-9 WHEREAS, The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, American 2-10 Association of Diabetes Educators, and other concerned groups have 2-11 supported the efforts of this day; now, therefore, be it 2-12 RESOLVED, The House of Representatives of the State of Texas, 2-13 73rd Legislature, hereby extend its concern for those with 2-14 diabetes.