Florida Senate - 2012                            (NP)    SR 1194
       
       
       
       By Senator Garcia
       
       
       
       
       40-01416-12                                           20121194__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing the founding of the Chronic
    3         Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Coalition of
    4         Florida and expressing appreciation for the
    5         organizers’ commitment to raising awareness of this
    6         disease.
    7  
    8         WHEREAS, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
    9  which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is the fourth
   10  leading cause of death in the United States and, unlike many
   11  diseases yielding to advances in medicine, this disease is not
   12  experiencing a decline in death rates, and
   13         WHEREAS, COPD is a chronic, progressive disease that
   14  impacts an estimated 1.8 million Floridians and affects 24
   15  million persons nationwide, with as many as half remaining
   16  undiagnosed, and
   17         WHEREAS, the primary risk factor for COPD is smoking, which
   18  accounts for up to 90 percent of COPD-related deaths, with other
   19  risk factors including environmental exposure, air pollution,
   20  secondhand smoke, a history of childhood respiratory infections,
   21  and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and
   22         WHEREAS, in 2007, $1.3 billion was spent in Florida on
   23  health care costs related to COPD, and there were more than
   24  63,000 hospitalizations due to the disease, and
   25         WHEREAS, nationwide, the annual cost of COPD is nearly $50
   26  billion, including $29.5 billion in direct health care
   27  expenditures, $8 billion in indirect morbidity costs, and $12.4
   28  billion in indirect mortality costs, and
   29         WHEREAS, early COPD screening and detection is critical as
   30  most people with COPD are not diagnosed until they have already
   31  lost half of their lung function, and
   32         WHEREAS, coordinated community efforts such as “DRIVE 4
   33  COPD,” the nation’s single largest awareness and screening
   34  campaign for COPD which has screened more than 2 million people
   35  since its launch in February 2010, can dramatically improve
   36  public health, and
   37         WHEREAS, there is no cure for COPD, but proper management
   38  of the disease can lead to improved quality of life and self
   39  sufficiency for COPD patients, many of whom receive through
   40  public programs care that slows damage to their heart and lungs,
   41  NOW, THEREFORE,
   42  
   43  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   44  
   45         That the members of the Senate recognize the founding of
   46  the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Coalition of
   47  Florida and express appreciation to the national COPD
   48  Foundation, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and
   49  Florida stakeholders for their commitment to raising awareness
   50  of this disease.