| |
|
|
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
| |
|
|
WHEREAS, "Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease" (COPD) is |
|
|
an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases |
|
|
including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory nonreversible |
|
|
asthma, and some forms of bronchiectasis; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In people with COPD, the airways and air sacs in the |
|
|
lungs lose their elastic qualities and cannot bounce back to their |
|
|
original shape and then become swollen and thicker and in some cases |
|
|
partially blocked or obstructed, leading to difficulty breathing |
|
|
and ultimately to the inability to breathe; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Smoking is the main risk factor for developing COPD, |
|
|
and secondhand smoke exposure, occupational dust, chemical |
|
|
exposure, air pollution, and genetics are also common causes of |
|
|
COPD; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Nationally the COPD Foundation reports that COPD is |
|
|
responsible for direct and indirect health care-related costs |
|
|
projected at $49.9 billion in 2010, and that 70 percent of those |
|
|
costs are related to hospitalizations; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, It is also estimated by the Agency for Healthcare |
|
|
Research and Quality that one out of five individuals over forty in |
|
|
the hospital have COPD; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In Texas the prevalence of COPD is 5.5 percent of the |
|
|
total population, and COPD affects individuals across all age |
|
|
groups but at even higher rates for individuals aged 55-64 at 8.1 |
|
|
percent and individuals 65 and over at a shocking 13.3 percent; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The American Association for Respiratory Care |
|
|
reports that nationally just over half of all persons with COPD |
|
|
report that their condition limits their ability to work and 34 |
|
|
percent say that COPD keeps them from working; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, There is no cure for COPD, and its lung damage is |
|
|
irreversible; treatments can improve a patient's quality of life by |
|
|
reducing frequency and severity of exacerbations, prevent symptoms |
|
|
from growing worse, and improving health status; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Treatments for COPD include stopping smoking, |
|
|
removing air pollutants from home and work, and treating symptoms |
|
|
with medication and pulmonary rehabilitation; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
|
|
reports that in 2011 chronic lower respiratory diseases, which are |
|
|
included within the conditions under the umbrella term of COPD, are |
|
|
the third-leading cause of death in the United States; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Many individuals who experience shortness of breath |
|
|
or other early symptoms of COPD mistake these symptoms as being a |
|
|
part of the normal aging process and then wait to receive treatments |
|
|
until the conditions are severe and the lung damage is |
|
|
significantly more difficult to treat and manage; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Concerted public outreach efforts such as a |
|
|
DRIVE4COPD, the nation's largest public awareness and screening |
|
|
campaign for COPD, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood |
|
|
Institute's COPD "Learn More Breathe Better Campaign" can |
|
|
dramatically improve public awareness of COPD; now, therefore, be |
|
|
it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby recognize Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease as a chronic |
|
|
health condition in Texas which contributes to increasing health |
|
|
care costs and decreasing productivity of its citizens; and, be it |
|
|
further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
direct the Texas Department of State Health Services to include |
|
|
COPD as a chronic health condition in their efforts to address |
|
|
serious and chronic health conditions in Texas by seeking out and |
|
|
applying for funding and grants available to provide public |
|
|
awareness or treatment for COPD in Texas; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
direct the Texas Department of State Health Services to include |
|
|
COPD as a chronic health condition in their current efforts to |
|
|
educate the public about the effects of smoking or other |
|
|
preventable and treatable chronic health conditions; and, be it |
|
|
further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby designate November as COPD Awareness Month; and, be it |
|
|
further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That in accordance with the provisions of Section |
|
|
391.004(d), Government Code, the designation expires on the 10th |
|
|
anniversary of the date this resolution is passed by the |
|
|
legislature. |
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * |