HLS 19RS-2499 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 105
BY REPRESENTATIVE STOKES
VETERANS: Requests a study regarding hyperbaric oxygen therapy for veterans with
traumatic brain injuries
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and the Tulane
3 University School of Medicine, in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of
4 Veterans Affairs and the Louisiana Department of Health, to study the medical
5 effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment in treating traumatic brain
6 injuries and the feasibility of establishing a program that provides hyperbaric oxygen
7 therapy treatment and recovery services to veterans who have suffered traumatic
8 brain injuries.
9 WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines traumatic brain
10injury as a disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow,
11or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury; and
12 WHEREAS, traumatic brain injuries can affect many areas of a person's life
13including physical functions, thinking abilities, and behaviors, and those effects sometimes
14cause other difficulties such as sleeping problems, depression, and anxiety; and
15 WHEREAS, there is growing evidence that a traumatic brain injury can have
16long-term effects on health, including an increased risk of dementia and other neurological
17and neurodegenerative disorders; and
18 WHEREAS, while there are many causes of traumatic brain injuries, active duty and
19reserve service members are at an increased risk for sustaining a traumatic brain injury
20compared to their civilian peers; and
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HCR NO. 105
1 WHEREAS, from 2002 to 2010, over five hundred Louisiana service members in
2Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom were diagnosed with traumatic
3brain injury-related conditions at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities; and
4 WHEREAS, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) treatment is a medical treatment
5that uses greater than ambient pressure oxygen as a drug by fully enclosing a person in a
6pressure vessel and then adjusting the dose of the drug to treat pathophysiologic processes
7of disease; and
8 WHEREAS, studies have shown that at the chronic stage of traumatic brain injury,
9HBOT has been shown to improve behavioral and neurobiological outcomes, and recent
10clinical trials favor HBOT as a promising and safe therapeutic strategy for severe traumatic
11brain injury patients.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
13urge and request the chancellor of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and
14the dean of Tulane University School of Medicine, in conjunction with the secretary of the
15Louisiana Department of Health and the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans
16Affairs, to study the medical effectiveness of providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy to those
17veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and the feasibility of establishing a program
18that provides such hyperbaric oxygen treatment and recovery services at no cost to the
19veteran.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study shall include a determination as to the
21medical effectiveness of HBOT in veterans with traumatic brain injuries and a determination
22as to the feasibility of providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment and recovery services
23at no cost to the veteran.
24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the chancellor of Louisiana State University
25Health Sciences Center and the dean of Tulane University School of Medicine, in
26conjunction with the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs and the
27secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, shall report their determinations and
28findings to the Louisiana Legislature no later than February 1, 2020.
29 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
30chancellor of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, the dean of Tulane
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HCR NO. 105
1University School of Medicine, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans
2Affairs, and the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 105 Original 2019 Regular Session Stokes
Requests LSU Health Sciences Center and Tulane University School of Medicine, in
conjunction with the La. Dept. of Veterans Affairs and the La. Dept. of Health, to study the
medical effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and the feasibility of establishing a
program that provides hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment and recovery services to
veterans who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.
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