Bill Text: TX HCR74 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Designating November as COPD Awareness Month for a 10-year period beginning in 2013, and directing the Texas Department of State Health Services to include COPD as a chronic health condition in their public awareness and educational efforts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-18 - Referred to Public Health [HCR74 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HCR74-Introduced.html
By: J. Davis of Harris | H.C.R. No. 74 |
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WHEREAS, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an | ||
umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases including | ||
emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory non-reversible asthma, | ||
and some forms of bronchiectasis; and | ||
WHEREAS, In people with COPD the airways and air sacs in the | ||
lungs lose their elastic qualities and can not bounce back to their | ||
original shape and then become swollen and thicker and in some cases | ||
partially blocked or obstructed leading to difficulty breathing and | ||
ultimately to the inability to breathe; and | ||
WHEREAS, Smoking is the main risk factor for developing COPD | ||
as well as second hand smoke exposure, occupational dust, chemical | ||
exposure, air pollution and genetics are also common causes of | ||
COPD; and | ||
WHEREAS, Nationally the COPD Foundation reports that COPD is | ||
responsible for direct and in-direct health care related costs | ||
projected at $49.9 billion in 2010 and that 70% of those costs are | ||
related to hospitalizations; and | ||
WHEREAS, It is also estimated by the Agency for Healthcare | ||
Research and Quality that one out of five individuals over forty in | ||
the hospital have COPD; and | ||
WHEREAS, In Texas the prevalence of COPD is 5.5% of the total | ||
population and COPD affects individuals across all age groups but | ||
at even higher rates for individuals aged 55-64 at 8.1% and | ||
individuals 65 and over at a shocking 13.3%; and | ||
WHEREAS, The American Association for Respiratory Care | ||
reports that nationally just over half of all persons with COPD | ||
report that their condition limits their ability to work and 34% say | ||
that COPD keeps them from working; and | ||
WHEREAS, There is no cure for COPD, and its lung damage is | ||
irreversible, treatments can improve a patients quality of life by | ||
reducing frequency and severity of exacerbations, prevent symptoms | ||
from growing worse, and improving health status; and | ||
WHEREAS, Treatments for COPD include stopping smoking, | ||
removing air pollutants from home and work, and treating symptoms | ||
with medication and pulmonary rehabilitation; and | ||
WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | ||
reports that in 2011 "chronic lower respiratory diseases" which are | ||
included with in the conditions under the umbrella term of COPD are | ||
the third leading cause of death in the United States; and | ||
WHEREAS, That many individuals who experience shortness of | ||
breath or other early symptoms of COPD mistake these symotoms as | ||
being a part of the "normal aging process" and then wait to receive | ||
treatments until the conditions are severe and the lung damage is | ||
significantly more difficult to treat and manage; | ||
WHEREAS, Concerted public outreach efforts such as a | ||
DRIVE4COPD, the nation's largest public awareness and screening | ||
campaign for COPD, and the NHLBI's COPD: Learn More Breathe Better | ||
Campaign, can dramatically improve public awareness of COPD; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That The 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby recognize Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder as a | ||
chronic health condition in Texas which contributes to increasing | ||
health care costs and decreasing productivity of its citizens; and, | ||
be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
directs the Texas Department of State Health Services to include | ||
COPD as a chronic health condition in their efforts to address | ||
serious and chronic health conditions in Texas by seeking out and | ||
applying for funding and grants available to provide public | ||
awareness or treatment for COPD in Texas; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
directs the Texas Department of State Health Services to include | ||
COPD as a chronic health condition in their current efforts to | ||
educate the public about the effects of smoking or other | ||
preventable and treatable chronic health conditions; and, be it | ||
further | ||
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby designate November as COPD awareness Month; and, be it | ||
further | ||
RESOLVED That in accordance with the provisions of Section | ||
391.044(d), Government Code, the designation expires on the 10th | ||
anniversary of the date this resolution is passed by the | ||
legislature. |