2020 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 18
BY SENATOR FRED MILLS
A RESOLUTION
To designate March as Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month in
Louisiana.
WHEREAS, brain injury refers to the death or injury of brain cells and the disruption
of neural pathways resulting in changes in the way a person thinks, feels and acts; and
WHEREAS, acquired brain injury (ABI) is an injury to the brain that is not
hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma; and
WHEREAS, ABI is the second most prevalent disability in the United States and an
estimated more than thirteen and one-half million Americans live with ABI; and
WHEREAS, traumatic brain injury (TBI), a subset of ABI, is defined by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention 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, a traumatic brain injury 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, in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
there were approximately two and one-half million TBI-related emergency department visits
in the United States, including over eight hundred twelve thousand among children; and
WHEREAS, there were approximately two hundred eighty-eight thousand
TBI-related hospitalizations, including over twenty-three thousand among children; and
WHEREAS, there were fifty-six thousand, eight hundred TBI-related deaths,
including over two thousand, five hundred deaths among children; and
WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TBIs are
a major cause of death and disability in the United States, contributing to approximately
thirty percent of all injury deaths; and
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WHEREAS, over five million Americans live with TBI-related disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the estimated economic cost of TBIs in 2012, including direct and
indirect medical costs and lost productivity, was approximately seventy-six and one-half
billion dollars; and
WHEREAS, every twenty-one seconds an infant, child, teenager, or adult in the
United States sustains a traumatic brain injury making TBI a public health concern that ranks
as a leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults; and
WHEREAS, the only cure for traumatic brain injury is prevention, and public
awareness is critical to the prevention of brain injury and to enhancing the recovery process
of all individuals affected by TBI.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby recognize the month of March as Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury
Awareness Month in Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
hereby urge all residents of Louisiana to work together to prevent brain injuries, to educate
others about the effects of brain injury, and to support the survivors of brain injuries and
their families in their efforts to return to their communities.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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