093_HB0215
LRB093 02612 MKM 02622 b
1 AN ACT in relation to public health.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Department of Public Health Powers and
5 Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is
6 amended by adding Section 2310-377 as follows:
7 (20 ILCS 2310/2310-377 new)
8 Sec. 2310-377. Lupus education and outreach.
9 (a) The Illinois General Assembly finds and declares the
10 following:
11 (1) Lupus is a chronic, incurable auto-immune
12 disease of unknown origin that mainly affects women of
13 childbearing age, is difficult to diagnose, and causes
14 severe, potentially life-threatening organ damage.
15 (2) The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that
16 1.4 million people in the U.S. have a form of lupus.
17 (3) Lupus causes the immune system to attack the
18 body's healthy cells and tissues producing skin damage,
19 rheumatoid arthritis, life-threatening inflammation of
20 multiple major organs, and a potentially fatal failure of
21 the renal, circulatory, or central nervous system.
22 (4) Symptoms include joint pain, rash, unusual loss
23 of hair, unexplained fever, low blood counts, sensitivity
24 to the sun, and fingers that turn pale or purple when
25 exposed to cold.
26 (5) According to the Lupus Foundation of America, a
27 survey of its members revealed that more than half of all
28 people with lupus suffered 4 or more years and were
29 examined by 3 or more doctors before obtaining a correct
30 diagnosis.
31 (6) According to the Center for Disease Control and
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1 Prevention, the number of lupus-related deaths between
2 1979 and 1988 increased dramatically; African American
3 women, ages 45-64, experienced a 70% increase, the
4 largest increase among all groups in the 20 years
5 studied.
6 (b) The Department shall conduct an education and
7 outreach campaign in order to raise awareness about the
8 symptoms and treatment of lupus, a potentially
9 life-threatening disease.