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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION |
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| INTRODUCED BY STEVENSON, BRIGGS, BAKER, BRADFORD, BROOKS, CALTAGIRONE, CAUSER, CLYMER, D. COSTA, CREIGHTON, DALEY, DeLUCA, DiGIROLAMO, ELLIS, EVERETT, FARRY, FLECK, FRANKEL, GEIST, GEORGE, GILLESPIE, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRELL, HARHAI, HARHART, HENNESSEY, HESS, HICKERNELL, HORNAMAN, F. KELLER, KILLION, KNOWLES, KORTZ, KOTIK, MAHONEY, MAJOR, MALONEY, MANN, MARSICO, McGEEHAN, MILLARD, MILNE, MIRABITO, MOUL, MURT, MUSTIO, NEUMAN, OBERLANDER, M. O'BRIEN, O'NEILL, PASHINSKI, PICKETT, QUINN, RAPP, ROCK, ROSS, SANTARSIERO, SANTONI, SCAVELLO, CULVER, SCHRODER, SONNEY, STERN, SWANGER, TOOHIL, VEREB, VULAKOVICH, WATSON, WHEATLEY AND YOUNGBLOOD, FEBRUARY 14, 2012 |
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| INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, FEBRUARY 14, 2012 |
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| A RESOLUTION |
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1 | Designating the month of March 2012 as "Brain Injury Awareness |
2 | Month" in Pennsylvania. |
3 | WHEREAS, Brain injury refers to the death or injury of brain |
4 | cells and the disruption of neural pathways resulting in changes |
5 | in the way a person thinks, feels and acts; and |
6 | WHEREAS, Acquired brain injury is an injury to the brain |
7 | secondary to trauma, stroke, postsurgical complications, |
8 | aneurysm, high fever, infection, near drowning, near |
9 | suffocation, near electrocution, poisoning and other conditions |
10 | which interfere with delivery of blood or oxygen to the brain; |
11 | and |
12 | WHEREAS, There are approximately 10 million Americans living |
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1 | with acquired brain injury, including stroke; and |
2 | WHEREAS, Brain injury due to trauma may be caused by a direct |
3 | blow to the head or being shaken violently and may be caused by |
4 | falls, motor vehicle crashes, bicycle accidents, sports and |
5 | recreation injuries, shaken baby syndrome, gunshot wounds and |
6 | assaults; and |
7 | WHEREAS, The signs and symptoms of traumatic brain injury can |
8 | be subtle and may not appear until days or weeks after the |
9 | injury or may even be missed; and |
10 | WHEREAS, Mild traumatic brain injury is often underdiagnosed |
11 | or misdiagnosed, with symptoms not always immediately apparent; |
12 | and |
13 | WHEREAS, Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of |
14 | disability and death from birth 40 years of age; and |
15 | WHEREAS, The cost of treating, rehabilitating and caring for |
16 | the victims of traumatic brain injury in the United States is |
17 | approximately $30 billion each year; and |
18 | WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
19 | estimate that 25% to 87% of inmates have a history of traumatic |
20 | brain injury; and |
21 | WHEREAS, A study found that 20% of the juvenile justice |
22 | population has been unconscious for 20 minutes or more due to a |
23 | traumatic brain injury; and |
24 | WHEREAS, It is estimated that there are from 50,000 to |
25 | 125,000 mild traumatic brain injuries (i.e., concussions) |
26 | resulting from sports and recreation accidents in Pennsylvania |
27 | every year; and |
28 | WHEREAS, Nationally, children and youth 5 to 18 years of age |
29 | accounted for approximately 2.4 million sports-related emergency |
30 | visits for traumatic brain injury annually; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Seventy-five percent of all brain injuries are |
2 | concussions from trauma, affecting more than 47,000 |
3 | Pennsylvanians; and |
4 | WHEREAS, More than 130,000 Pennsylvanians are living with a |
5 | long-term disability resulting from traumatic brain injury; and |
6 | WHEREAS, More than 50,000 Pennsylvanians are treated and |
7 | released from emergency rooms for traumatic brain injury |
8 | annually; and |
9 | WHEREAS, More than 32,000 Pennsylvania children under 21 |
10 | years of age have a medical history that includes a |
11 | hospitalization for traumatic brain injury; and |
12 | WHEREAS, Brain injury is the signature injury of those |
13 | military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan; and |
14 | WHEREAS, This Commonwealth has a number of the leading |
15 | research centers for brain injury, including the Penn Center for |
16 | Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania, the |
17 | Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, the Brain Trauma |
18 | Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh and the Center |
19 | for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children's Hospital of |
20 | Philadelphia; and |
21 | WHEREAS, Three organizations in this Commonwealth |
22 | specifically devoted to brain injury include the Brain Injury |
23 | Association of Pennsylvania, Inc., the Acquired Brain Injury |
24 | Network of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Brain Injury |
25 | Coalition, and two organizations with a strong focus on brain |
26 | injury include the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania and |
27 | the Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation Facilities; and |
28 | WHEREAS, The Commonwealth has agencies with a specific focus |
29 | on brain injury, including the Department of Health Traumatic |
30 | Brain Injury Advisory Board; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, The Commonwealth has several government programs |
2 | that administer specialized brain injury rehabilitation and |
3 | community support programs, including the Department of Health |
4 | Head Injury Program and the Office of Long Term Living CommCare |
5 | Waiver program; and |
6 | WHEREAS, The best approach to the silent epidemic of brain |
7 | injury is to promote the awareness, prevention and treatment of |
8 | brain injuries; and |
9 | WHEREAS, Brain injury prevention and access to necessary |
10 | treatment and services can be promoted through community |
11 | education and a public awareness campaign; therefore be it |
12 | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the |
13 | month of March 2012 as "Brain Injury Awareness Month" in |
14 | Pennsylvania; and be it further |
15 | RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to |
16 | the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania, Inc., 950 Walnut |
17 | Bottom Road, Suite 15-229, Carlisle, PA 17015; to the Disability |
18 | Rights Network of Pennsylvania, 1414 North Cameron Street, Suite |
19 | C, Harrisburg, PA 17103; to the Acquired Brain Injury Network of |
20 | Pennsylvania, 2275 Glenview Drive, Lansdale, PA 19446 and to the |
21 | Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, 2400 Park |
22 | Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17110. |
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