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Regular Session, 2014
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 133
BY SENATOR HEITMEIER
SENATE. Recognizes September 2014 as "Pain Awareness Month" in Louisiana.
A RESOLUTION1
To recognize the month of September 2014 as "Pain Awareness Month" in Louisiana.2
WHEREAS, over one hundred million American adults suffer from chronic pain,3
including millions with debilitating conditions such as chronic lower back pain,4
fibromyalgia, and arthritis; and5
WHEREAS, chronic pain costs America up to six hundred thirty-five billion dollars6
a year in added health costs and lost productivity, including billions of dollars in Medicaid7
costs; and8
WHEREAS, chronic pain is a major public health problem and hidden driver of9
rising health care costs; and10
WHEREAS, significant barriers to adequate pain care exist, including regulatory,11
legal, institutional, financial, and geographical barriers, and as a result, millions of12
Americans settle for inadequate pain care; and13
WHEREAS, pain and pain treatment, represent a national challenge and cultural14
modifications are needed to better prevent, assess, treat, and understand pain of all types; and15
WHEREAS, these findings regarding chronic pain were made by the Institute of16
Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences in its landmark report issued in 2011,17
Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and18 SR NO. 133
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Research; and1
WHEREAS, the IOM report includes a number of recommendations to improve pain2
care, education, and research; and3
WHEREAS, the IOM report found that significant savings could be achieved through4
better treatment of acute pain, such as a reduction in workers' compensation costs, an end5
to significant lost tax revenues, and a reduced burden of the societal costs of opioid abuse6
and misuse; and7
WHEREAS, the IOM report urges that the nation should develop a comprehensive8
plan that heightens awareness about pain and its health consequences, emphasizes the9
prevention of pain, improves the assessment of pain and plans for management of that pain,10
uses public health strategies to educate the public, and addresses the disparities in the11
experience of pain among Americans; and12
WHEREAS, by naming a "Pain Awareness Month" in the state, the Louisiana State13
Senate is taking a positive step in heightening awareness of pain, particularly chronic pain,14
and its health consequences; and15
WHEREAS, chronic pain is a serious health problem and the appropriate agencies16
of state government should examine how the state can improve the health and productivity17
of its citizens and reduce personal and government health care expenditures by implementing18
the recommendations of the IOM report.19
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana20
does hereby recognize the month of September 2014 as "Pain Awareness Month" in21
Louisiana.22
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to23
Darrick LeBeouf of Pfizer, Inc., in New Orleans.24
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Mary Dozier O'Brien.
DIGEST
Heitmeier SR No. 133
Recognizes the month of September 2014 as "Pain Awareness Month" in Louisiana.