Senate Joint Resolution 21
Whereas 1.5 million
Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year, and 500,000 of those
individuals die as a result of these injuries; and
Whereas approximately
5.3 million Americans live with disabilities resulting from traumatic brain
injury each year, and 500,000 of those individuals die as a result of these
injuries, including 72,000 Oregonians; and
Whereas traumatic brain
injury ranks as the leading cause of death and disability in children and young
adults; and
Whereas 40,000
individuals over the age of 65 visit hospital emergency rooms for traumatic
brain injury resulting from a fall, leading to the hospitalization of 16,000
senior citizens and the deaths of 4,000 senior citizens annually; and
Whereas the costs
relating to brain injury are staggering, and individuals with traumatic brain
injury typically face 5 to 10 years of intensive rehabilitation with cumulative
costs exceeding $60 billion annually; and
Whereas individuals with
traumatic brain injury suffer from serious physical impairments and a variety
of perceptual, cognitive, psychiatric, emotional and behavioral complications,
including impaired interpersonal and problem-solving skills, memory loss,
decreased thought-processing abilities, speech and seizure disorders, and
physical deficits; and
Whereas the only cure
for traumatic brain injury is prevention, and public awareness is critical to
the prevention of brain injury and to enhancing the recovery process of all
individuals affected by traumatic brain injury; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the
Legislative Assembly of the State of
That the month of March
in each year is designated as Brain Injury Awareness Month. All
Filed in the office of Secretary of State May 23, 2007
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