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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is
3an umbrella term used to describe airflow obstruction that is
4associated mainly with emphysema and chronic bronchitis; and
 
5    WHEREAS, COPD affects an estimated 24 million individuals
6in the United States, and kills more than 120,000 Americans a
7year; on average, one person dies from COPD every 4 minutes;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 2010, the National Center for Health Statistics
10releases a report stating that, in 2008, COPD became the third
11leading cause of death in the United States; and
 
12    WHEREAS, COPD currently accounts for 1.5 million emergency
13room visits, 726,000 hospitalizations, and 8 million physician
14office and hospital outpatient visits, all of which are
15detrimental to the United States economy; COPD costs the nation
16an estimated $42.6 billion in direct and indirect medical costs
17annually; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The 2010 Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor
19Surveillance Survey revealed that over 440,000 Illinoisans
20have been diagnosed with COPD; it is estimated that another
21440,000 have yet to be diagnosed; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Illinois COPD Coalition, convened by the
2Respiratory Health Association, continues to implement the
3State Plan for Addressing COPD, a plan that outlines
4sustainable solutions to improve care and treatment and to
5prevent and reduce the prevalence of the disease in Illinois;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Research has identified a hereditary protein
8deficiency called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin; people with this
9deficiency tend to develop COPD, despite the lack of exposure
10to smoking and environmental triggers; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Recently, the death rate for women with COPD has
12surpassed the death rate of men with COPD; women over the age
13of 40 are the fastest growing segment of the population to
14develop this irreversible disease, due in large part to the
15equalization of opportunity for men and women to smoke over the
16past several generations; and
 
17    WHEREAS, There is currently no cure for COPD; spirometry
18testing and medical treatments, such as pulmonary
19rehabilitation, exist to address symptom relief and possibly
20slow progression of the disease; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Until there is a cure, the best approaches to

 

 

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1preventing COPD and its considerable health, societal, and
2mortality impacts lie in education, awareness, and expanded
3delivery of detection and management protocols; therefore, be
4it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we designate the month of November as COPD Awareness Month in
8the State of Illinois and urge the citizens of this State to
9become more aware of COPD and its effects.