SR0714 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0714 LRB097 20996 GRL 68278 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an umbrella term used to describe airflow obstruction that is associated mainly with emphysema and chronic bronchitis; and

WHEREAS, COPD affects an estimated 24 million individuals in the United States, and kills more than 120,000 Americans a year; on average, one person dies from COPD every 4 minutes; and

WHEREAS, In 2010, the National Center for Health Statistics releases a report stating that, in 2008, COPD became the third leading cause of death in the United States; and

WHEREAS, COPD currently accounts for 1.5 million emergency room visits, 726,000 hospitalizations, and 8 million physician office and hospital outpatient visits, all of which are detrimental to the United States economy; COPD costs the nation an estimated $42.6 billion in direct and indirect medical costs annually; and

WHEREAS, The 2010 Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey revealed that over 440,000 Illinoisans have been diagnosed with COPD; it is estimated that another 440,000 have yet to be diagnosed; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois COPD Coalition, convened by the Respiratory Health Association, continues to implement the State Plan for Addressing COPD, a plan that outlines sustainable solutions to improve care and treatment and to prevent and reduce the prevalence of the disease in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Research has identified a hereditary protein deficiency called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin; people with this deficiency tend to develop COPD, despite the lack of exposure to smoking and environmental triggers; and

WHEREAS, Recently, the death rate for women with COPD has surpassed the death rate of men with COPD; women over the age of 40 are the fastest growing segment of the population to develop this irreversible disease, due in large part to the equalization of opportunity for men and women to smoke over the past several generations; and

WHEREAS, There is currently no cure for COPD; spirometry testing and medical treatments, such as pulmonary rehabilitation, exist to address symptom relief and possibly slow progression of the disease; and

WHEREAS, Until there is a cure, the best approaches to preventing COPD and its considerable health, societal, and mortality impacts lie in education, awareness, and expanded delivery of detection and management protocols; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate the month of November as COPD Awareness Month in the State of Illinois and urge the citizens of this State to become more aware of COPD and its effects.