ENROLLED
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 105
BY REPRESENTATIVE STOKES
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and the Tulane
University School of Medicine, in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of
Veterans Affairs and the Louisiana Department of Health, to study the medical
effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment in treating traumatic brain
injuries and the feasibility of establishing a program that provides hyperbaric oxygen
therapy treatment and recovery services to veterans who have suffered traumatic
brain injuries.
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines traumatic brain
injury as a disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow,
or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury; and
WHEREAS, traumatic brain injuries can affect many areas of a person's life
including physical functions, thinking abilities, and behaviors, and those effects sometimes
cause other difficulties such as sleeping problems, depression, and anxiety; and
WHEREAS, there is growing evidence that a traumatic brain injury can have
long-term effects on health, including an increased risk of dementia and other neurological
and neurodegenerative disorders; and
WHEREAS, while there are many causes of traumatic brain injuries, active duty and
reserve service members are at an increased risk for sustaining a traumatic brain injury
compared to their civilian peers; and
WHEREAS, from 2002 to 2010, over five hundred Louisiana service members in
Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom were diagnosed with traumatic
brain injury-related conditions at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities; and
WHEREAS, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) treatment is a medical treatment
that uses greater than ambient pressure oxygen as a drug by fully enclosing a person in a
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pressure vessel and then adjusting the dose of the drug to treat pathophysiologic processes
of disease; and
WHEREAS, studies have shown that at the chronic stage of traumatic brain injury,
HBOT has been shown to improve behavioral and neurobiological outcomes, and recent
clinical trials favor HBOT as a promising and safe therapeutic strategy for severe traumatic
brain injury patients.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the chancellor of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and
the dean of Tulane University School of Medicine, in conjunction with the secretary of the
Louisiana Department of Health and the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans
Affairs, to study the medical effectiveness of providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy to those
veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and the feasibility of establishing a program
that provides such hyperbaric oxygen treatment and recovery services at no cost to the
veteran.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study shall include a determination as to the
medical effectiveness of HBOT in veterans with traumatic brain injuries and a determination
as to the feasibility of providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment and recovery services
at no cost to the veteran.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the chancellor of Louisiana State University
Health Sciences Center and the dean of Tulane University School of Medicine, in
conjunction with the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs and the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, shall report their determinations and
findings to the Louisiana Legislature no later than February 1, 2020.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
chancellor of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, the dean of Tulane
University School of Medicine, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans
Affairs, and the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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