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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION |
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| INTRODUCED BY WATERS, WHEATLEY, HENNESSEY, ROCK, YOUNGBLOOD, V. BROWN, BROWNLEE, BUXTON, CALTAGIRONE, DAVIS, DiGIROLAMO, GOODMAN, KAVULICH, KIRKLAND, KORTZ, LONGIETTI, MANN, MILLARD, ROEBUCK, STABACK, SWANGER, VULAKOVICH, WAGNER, FLECK, READSHAW, VEREB, M. O'BRIEN AND MIRABITO, SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 |
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| INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 |
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| A RESOLUTION |
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1 | Recognizing the month of October 2011 as "Infant Mortality |
2 | Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania. |
3 | WHEREAS, Infant mortality, referring to the death of a baby |
4 | before it reaches its first birthday, is especially prevalent in |
5 | communities with large minority populations, high rates of |
6 | unemployment and poverty and limited access to safe housing and |
7 | medical providers; and |
8 | WHEREAS, The United States ranks 29th among industrialized |
9 | nations in the rate of infant mortality, and the gap between the |
10 | United States infant mortality rate and the rates for the |
11 | countries with the lowest infant mortality rate appears to be |
12 | widening; and |
13 | WHEREAS, The infant mortality rate decreased slightly in 2006 |
14 | to 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, but remains much higher |
15 | than the target rate of 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births set by |
16 | Healthy People 2010; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, The impact of infant mortality is considerable: |
2 | there are more than 28,000 deaths to children under one year of |
3 | age each year in the United States; and |
4 | WHEREAS, Groups across the nation are holding special events |
5 | such as baby parades, Bowling for Babies fundraisers, |
6 | neighborhood health fairs, open houses, poster contests, |
7 | unbirthday parties, clothesline projects, memorial gardens and |
8 | other initiatives to raise awareness of infant mortality and |
9 | prevention; and |
10 | WHEREAS, Organizations such as Healthy Start, a federally |
11 | funded program utilizing a strong, community-based coalition, |
12 | are having a dramatic impact on decreasing the high rates of |
13 | infant mortality, and this Commonwealth is home to six of the |
14 | 100 Healthy Start projects nationwide; and |
15 | WHEREAS, Since 1998, Healthy Start projects across the |
16 | country have successfully increased the rate of a pregnant |
17 | woman's participation in early prenatal care during her first |
18 | trimester from 41.8% to more than 70%, directly saving the lives |
19 | of many vulnerable infants; and |
20 | WHEREAS, The observance of "Infant Mortality Awareness Month" |
21 | by groups such as Healthy Start will increase national awareness |
22 | of infant mortality and its contributing factors, and it will |
23 | also allow for the facilitation of activities that will help |
24 | local communities address this issue; therefore be it |
25 | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the |
26 | month of October 2011 as "Infant Mortality Awareness Month" in |
27 | Pennsylvania and commend organizations such as Healthy Start for |
28 | their important role in addressing this public health issue. |
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