Full Text of SR0535 103rd General Assembly
SR0535 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SR0535 | | LRB103 34837 ECR 64694 r |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, Epilepsy Awareness is a nationwide effort to | 3 | | raise awareness about and change the conversation around | 4 | | epilepsy, seizures, and side effects as well as to improve and | 5 | | save lives through care, advocacy, research, new therapies, | 6 | | public health, and education; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Epilepsy is a brain disorder characterized by | 8 | | recurrent and unprovoked seizures that can affect anyone at | 9 | | any age at any time; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Epilepsy is also a spectrum disease comprised of | 11 | | many diagnoses and experiences and includes a wide range of | 12 | | seizure types, comorbidities, control, severity, and outcomes | 13 | | that vary from person-to-person; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological | 15 | | disorder; approximately 3.4 million people in the United | 16 | | States live with active epilepsy, including 137,000 people in | 17 | | the State of Illinois; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, In the U.S., approximately more than 324,000 | 19 | | Hispanic Americans and more than 578,000 Black, non-Hispanic | 20 | | Americans live with epilepsy, with latter more likely to be | 21 | | diagnosed with epilepsy over their lifetime due to a variety |
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| 1 | | of factors, such as strokes and head injuries; for some people | 2 | | with epilepsy, disparities in care exist that lead to worse | 3 | | outcomes; for instance, individuals often experience | 4 | | significant delays in obtaining an appropriate diagnosis if | 5 | | they are American Indian, Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific | 6 | | Islander, Native Hawaiian, or a member of other indigenous | 7 | | groups; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, An increasing number of people are diagnosed with | 9 | | rare epilepsies which are largely complex, severe, chronic, | 10 | | and even life-threatening; collectively, rare epilepsies | 11 | | account for a growing percentage of the epilepsy population; | 12 | | and | 13 | | WHEREAS, People with epilepsy need access to affordable, | 14 | | comprehensive, physician-directed, and person-centered | 15 | | healthcare; delays in accessing effective treatments increase | 16 | | the likelihood of breakthrough seizures and related | 17 | | complications, including injury, disability, or even Sudden | 18 | | Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP); each year, it is thought | 19 | | that one in 1,000 people with epilepsy die from SUDEP, and this | 20 | | number increases drastically to one out of 150 for people | 21 | | whose epilepsy is not controlled by treatment; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Many treatments are approved to treat seizures, | 23 | | yet 30 to 40% of people with epilepsy still live with |
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| 1 | | uncontrolled seizures, and epilepsy-related medical costs | 2 | | associated with uncontrolled epilepsy are two to ten times | 3 | | higher than those of controlled epilepsy; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, In the last year, 21% of people with epilepsy | 5 | | have reported not being able to afford their prescription | 6 | | medications; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Non-medical drivers of health, such as social, | 8 | | economic, and environmental conditions including housing, | 9 | | employment, food security, transportation, and education, | 10 | | account for 80 to 90% of a person's health outcome; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Epilepsy and/or seizures impose an annual | 12 | | economic burden on healthcare of $54 billion; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, In the U.S., 470,000 children live with epilepsy | 14 | | and 336,000 kids have at least one seizure annually; on | 15 | | average, students with epilepsy aged 6 to 17 years old have | 16 | | missed 11 or more days of school during the past year; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Protections exist for those with epilepsy in the | 18 | | Americans with Disabilities Act and related civil rights laws; | 19 | | despite these protections, people with epilepsy still | 20 | | encounter discrimination in a number of areas, including | 21 | | employment, education, and housing; therefore, be it |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare November | 3 | | 2023 as Epilepsy Awareness Month in the State of Illinois; and | 4 | | be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 6 | | presented to the Epilepsy Foundation of Chicago, the Epilepsy | 7 | | Foundation of Southern Illinois, the Danny Did Foundation, and | 8 | | CURE. |
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