SLS 20RS-775 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 18
BY SENATOR FRED MILLS
SPECIAL DAY/WEEK/MONTH. Designates March as Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain
Injury Awareness Month in Louisiana.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To designate March as Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month in
3 Louisiana.
4 WHEREAS, brain injury refers to the death or injury of brain cells and the disruption
5 of neural pathways resulting in changes in the way a person thinks, feels and acts; and
6 WHEREAS, acquired brain injury (ABI) is an injury to the brain that is not
7 hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma; and
8 WHEREAS, ABI is the second most prevalent disability in the United States and an
9 estimated more than thirteen and one-half million Americans live with ABI; and
10 WHEREAS, traumatic brain injury (TBI), a subset of ABI, is defined by the Centers
11 for Disease Control and Prevention as a disruption in the normal function of the brain that
12 can be caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury; and
13 WHEREAS, a traumatic brain injury can affect many areas of a person's life
14 including physical functions, thinking abilities, and behaviors, and those effects sometimes
15 cause other difficulties such as sleeping problems, depression, and anxiety; and
16 WHEREAS, there is growing evidence that a traumatic brain injury can have
17 long-term effects on health, including an increased risk of dementia and other neurological
18 and neurodegenerative disorders; and
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SLS 20RS-775 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2 there were approximately two and one-half million TBI-related emergency department visits
3 in the United States, including over eight hundred twelve thousand among children; and
4 WHEREAS, there were approximately two hundred eighty-eight thousand
5 TBI-related hospitalizations, including over twenty-three thousand among children; and
6 WHEREAS, there were fifty-six thousand, eight hundred TBI-related deaths,
7 including over two thousand, five hundred deaths among children; and
8 WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TBIs are
9 a major cause of death and disability in the United States, contributing to approximately
10 thirty percent of all injury deaths; and
11 WHEREAS, over five million Americans live with TBI-related disabilities; and
12 WHEREAS, the estimated economic cost of TBIs in 2012, including direct and
13 indirect medical costs and lost productivity, was approximately seventy-six and one-half
14 billion dollars; and
15 WHEREAS, every twenty-one seconds an infant, child, teenager, or adult in the
16 United States sustains a traumatic brain injury making TBI a public health concern that ranks
17 as a leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults; and
18 WHEREAS, the only cure for traumatic brain injury is prevention, and public
19 awareness is critical to the prevention of brain injury and to enhancing the recovery process
20 of all individuals affected by TBI.
21 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
22 does hereby recognize the month of March as Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury
23 Awareness Month in Louisiana.
24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
25 hereby urge all residents of Louisiana to work together to prevent brain injuries, to educate
26 others about the effects of brain injury, and to support the survivors of brain injuries and
27 their families in their efforts to return to their communities.
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SLS 20RS-775 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Brandi Cannon.
DIGEST
SR 18 Original 2020 Regular Session Fred Mills
Designates March as Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month in
Louisiana.
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