| 1 | 1 | | 86R9318 BK-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Guillen H.C.R. No. 43 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, More than 30 million people are estimated to have |
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| 7 | 7 | | kidney disease in the United States, and one in every three |
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| 8 | 8 | | Americans is at risk for developing the disease due to diabetes, |
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| 9 | 9 | | high blood pressure, or a family history of renal failure; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, The kidneys are vital organs that perform a number |
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| 11 | 11 | | of tasks crucial to overall health, including filtering blood, |
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| 12 | 12 | | regulating blood pressure, and controlling red blood cell |
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| 13 | 13 | | production; and |
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| 14 | 14 | | WHEREAS, Chronic kidney disease is characterized by the |
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| 15 | 15 | | gradual loss of kidney function, which in advanced stages results |
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| 16 | 16 | | in the dangerous buildup of fluids, electrolytes, and wastes in the |
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| 17 | 17 | | body; because kidney disease often has few or no symptoms in its |
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| 18 | 18 | | early stages, it frequently goes unnoticed until kidney function is |
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| 19 | 19 | | significantly impaired; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | WHEREAS, Currently, there are more than 50,000 Texans |
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| 21 | 21 | | receiving dialysis due to impaired kidney function, and the cost of |
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| 22 | 22 | | providing this treatment is high, at an average of more than $80,000 |
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| 23 | 23 | | per person annually; in 2016, the total Medicare cost of chronic |
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| 24 | 24 | | kidney disease and end-stage renal disease was a combined $114 |
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| 25 | 25 | | billion; in addition, kidney patients comprise the vast majority of |
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| 26 | 26 | | those on the national organ transplant waiting list, where they |
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| 27 | 27 | | face a median wait time of 3.6 years; and |
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| 28 | 28 | | WHEREAS, Chronic kidney disease imposes a heavy physical, |
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| 29 | 29 | | emotional, and economic burden, but studies have continuously |
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| 30 | 30 | | attested to the benefits of early detection and treatment in |
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| 31 | 31 | | reducing the incidence of end-stage renal disease and lessening the |
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| 32 | 32 | | need for renal dialysis and transplants to keep patients healthy; |
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| 33 | 33 | | the observance of Kidney Health Awareness Month provides an |
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| 34 | 34 | | opportunity to focus attention on a health issue that may be going |
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| 35 | 35 | | unnoticed by many thousands of Texans, as well as to highlight |
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| 36 | 36 | | chronic kidney disease as an urgent priority for our state; now, |
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| 37 | 37 | | therefore, be it |
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| 38 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 39 | 39 | | hereby designate February as Kidney Health Awareness Month; and, be |
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| 40 | 40 | | it further |
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| 41 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section |
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| 42 | 42 | | 391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
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| 43 | 43 | | until the 10th anniversary of the date that this resolution is |
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| 44 | 44 | | finally passed by the legislature. |
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