Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR26 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hinojosa S.C.R. No. 26
2	2	(J. Davis of Harris)
3	3
4	4
5	5	SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, "Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease" (COPD) is
7	7	an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases
8	8	including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory nonreversible
9	9	asthma, and some forms of bronchiectasis; and
10	10	WHEREAS, In people with COPD, the airways and air sacs in the
11	11	lungs lose their elastic qualities and cannot bounce back to their
12	12	original shape and then become swollen and thicker and in some cases
13	13	partially blocked or obstructed, leading to difficulty breathing
14	14	and ultimately to the inability to breathe; and
15	15	WHEREAS, Smoking is the main risk factor for developing COPD,
16	16	and secondhand smoke exposure, occupational dust, chemical
17	17	exposure, air pollution, and genetics are also common causes of
18	18	COPD; and
19	19	WHEREAS, Nationally the COPD Foundation reports that COPD is
20	20	responsible for direct and indirect health care-related costs
21	21	projected at $49.9 billion in 2010, and that 70 percent of those
22	22	costs are related to hospitalizations; and
23	23	WHEREAS, It is also estimated by the Agency for Healthcare
24	24	Research and Quality that one out of five individuals over forty in
25	25	the hospital have COPD; and
26	26	WHEREAS, In Texas the prevalence of COPD is 5.5 percent of the
27	27	total population, and COPD affects individuals across all age
28	28	groups but at even higher rates for individuals aged 55-64 at 8.1
29	29	percent and individuals 65 and over at a shocking 13.3 percent; and
30	30	WHEREAS, The American Association for Respiratory Care
31	31	reports that nationally just over half of all persons with COPD
32	32	report that their condition limits their ability to work and 34
33	33	percent say that COPD keeps them from working; and
34	34	WHEREAS, There is no cure for COPD, and its lung damage is
35	35	irreversible; treatments can improve a patient's quality of life by
36	36	reducing frequency and severity of exacerbations, prevent symptoms
37	37	from growing worse, and improving health status; and
38	38	WHEREAS, Treatments for COPD include stopping smoking,
39	39	removing air pollutants from home and work, and treating symptoms
40	40	with medication and pulmonary rehabilitation; and
41	41	WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
42	42	reports that in 2011 chronic lower respiratory diseases, which are
43	43	included within the conditions under the umbrella term of COPD, are
44	44	the third-leading cause of death in the United States; and
45	45	WHEREAS, Many individuals who experience shortness of breath
46	46	or other early symptoms of COPD mistake these symptoms as being a
47	47	part of the normal aging process and then wait to receive treatments
48	48	until the conditions are severe and the lung damage is
49	49	significantly more difficult to treat and manage; and
50	50	WHEREAS, Concerted public outreach efforts such as a
51	51	DRIVE4COPD, the nation's largest public awareness and screening
52	52	campaign for COPD, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
53	53	Institute's COPD "Learn More Breathe Better Campaign" can
54	54	dramatically improve public awareness of COPD; now, therefore, be
55	55	it
56	56	RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
57	57	hereby recognize Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease as a chronic
58	58	health condition in Texas which contributes to increasing health
59	59	care costs and decreasing productivity of its citizens; and, be it
60	60	further
61	61	RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
62	62	direct the Texas Department of State Health Services to include
63	63	COPD as a chronic health condition in their efforts to address
64	64	serious and chronic health conditions in Texas by seeking out and
65	65	applying for funding and grants available to provide public
66	66	awareness or treatment for COPD in Texas; and, be it further
67	67	RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
68	68	direct the Texas Department of State Health Services to include
69	69	COPD as a chronic health condition in their current efforts to
70	70	educate the public about the effects of smoking or other
71	71	preventable and treatable chronic health conditions; and, be it
72	72	further
73	73	RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
74	74	hereby designate November as COPD Awareness Month; and, be it
75	75	further
76	76	RESOLVED, That in accordance with the provisions of Section
77	77	391.004(d), Government Code, the designation expires on the 10th
78	78	anniversary of the date this resolution is passed by the
79	79	legislature.