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Regular Session, 2012 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 133
BY SENATOR ALLAIN
A RESOLUTION
To designate May 31, 2012, as St. Jude Children's Hospital Day at the Louisiana Senate.
WHEREAS, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital opened in 1962, and was
founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas; and
WHEREAS, St. Jude's mission is to find cures for children with cancer and other
catastrophic diseases through research and treatment; and
WHEREAS, St. Jude has treated children from all fifty states and from around the
world while also being the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay
for treatment which is not covered by insurance; and
WHEREAS, no child is ever denied treatment because of the family's inability to
pay; and
WHEREAS, in 1962, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most
common form of childhood cancer, was four percent; and
WHEREAS, today, the survival rate for this once deadly disease is ninety-four
percent, thanks to research and treatment protocols developed at St. Jude; and
WHEREAS, during the past five years, eighty-one cents of every dollar received
goes to research and treatment at St. Jude; and
WHEREAS, with a daily operating cost of one point seven million dollars, which are
primarily covered by public contributions, St. Jude treats on average, five thousand nine
hundred patients annually, with most treated on an outpatient basis; and
WHEREAS, St. Jude maintains seventy-eight inpatient beds, treats upwards of two
hundred and sixty patients daily, while remaining the first and only pediatric cancer center
to be designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and
WHEREAS, in 2011, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital was named one of the
country's "100 Best Companies to Work For", by Fortune magazine under a two-point five SR NO. 133 ENROLLED
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million square feet of research, clinical, and administrative space dedicated to finding cures
and saving children; and
WHEREAS, St. Jude was the first pediatric cancer research institution to place
doctors, scientists, and patients under one roof, creating a worldwide model for bench-to-
bedside research and treatment of childhood cancers and other life-threatening diseases; and
WHEREAS, St. Jude has revolutionized pediatric cancer treatment around the world
with its groundbreaking use of a combination of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Peter C. Doherty, PhD, of the St. Jude Immunology department,
won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1996, sharing the award with Dr. Rolf
M. Zinkernagel, MD, of the University of Zurich, leading to breakthroughs in the
understanding and treatment of viral infections and cancers, and the development of organ
transplant procedures and vaccines; and
WHEREAS, St. Jude was the first institution to produce a cure for sickle cell disease
with a bone marrow transplant and has one of the largest pediatric sickle cell disease
programs in the country.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby designate May 31, 2012, as St. Jude Children's Hospital Day at the Louisiana
Senate.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE