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Regular Session, 2010
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 112
BY REPRESENTATIVE GIROD JACKSON
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To recognize the month of April as Foot Health Awareness Month.
WHEREAS, diabetes is a disease that affects the body's ability to produce and use
insulin in amounts sufficient to control blood sugar levels; and
WHEREAS, diabetes affects twenty-three million six hundred thousand Americans
each year and, according to the American Diabetes Association, costs one hundred seventy-
four billion dollars in the United States each year, with approximately one million six
hundred thousand new cases being diagnosed each year; and
WHEREAS, people with any type of diabetes can develop blindness, heart disease
and stroke, kidney disease, and nervous system disease (neuropathy); and
WHEREAS, diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults
of age twenty to seventy-four, and is also the leading cause of kidney failure; and
WHEREAS, sixty to seventy percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe
forms of nervous system damage; and
WHEREAS, adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates two to four times
higher than adults without diabetes; and
WHEREAS, the complications of diabetes cause an alarming number of victims to
lose a leg or a foot, at a rate calculated to equal one loss every thirty seconds worldwide, and
experts estimate that eighty-five percent of these amputations could have been avoided
through comprehensive diabetes control and patient education; and
WHEREAS, raising awareness of the impact of complications from diabetes will
play a key role in educating others on the importance of prevention and treatment, resulting
in better health for all individuals in the state of Louisiana and throughout the nation; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 112
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WHEREAS, providing access to prevention, detection, and treatment of
complications from diabetes will save many lives and also will have the effect of saving
money.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
recognize the month of April as Foot Health Awareness Month.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
encourage all health care providers, insurers, and purchasers to join in support of awareness
and education regarding diabetes, its complications, and proper medical management.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
American Podiatric Medical Association.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE