IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 296 

Expressing support for the designation of August 2008 as ‘‘National Heat 

Stroke Awareness Month’’ to raise awareness and encourage prevention 

of heat stroke. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2008 

Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. ROSS, and Mr. BERRY) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the designation of August 2008 as 

‘‘National Heat Stroke Awareness Month’’ to raise 

awareness and encourage prevention of heat stroke. 

Whereas heat stroke is a true medical emergency that can be 

fatal if not properly and promptly treated, and 50 percent of those with heat stroke die from it; 

Whereas children absorb more heat from a hot environment 

because they have greater surface area-to-body mass 

ratio than adults; 

Whereas the smaller the child, the faster he or she can overheat; 

Whereas children and adolescents may have a reduced ability 

to dissipate heat through sweating; 


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Whereas children and adolescents frequently do not have the 

physiological drive to drink enough fluids to replenish 

sweat losses during prolonged exercise; 

Whereas youth athletes may be more easily distracted by 

teammates and spectators when given the opportunity to 

rest and rehydrate; 

Whereas a recent study found that 70 percent of afterschool 

athletes arrive on the playing field already dehydrated; 

Whereas heat-induced illness is one of the most preventable 

sports ailments and parents, young athletes, and coaches 

need to understand the physiological factors that increase 

the risk for heat-related illness and take steps to prevent 

it; 

Whereas 13-year-old Kendrick Fincher from Rogers, Arkansas, collapsed during an August pre-season football practice, was rushed to the hospital, and for the next 18 days 

his family waited anxiously for him to regain consciousness; 

Whereas Kendrick Fincher tragically never regained consciousness, and died on August 25, 1995, from multi-system organ failure as a result of heat stroke; 

Whereas Kendrick’s parents, Rhonda and Mike Fincher, 

pressured their local school district to change its policies 

and procedures to provide adequate hydration during all 

athletic activities; 

Whereas Kendrick’s parents also founded the Kendrick 

Fincher Memorial Foundation to raise awareness of the 

potentially deadly consequences of dehydration for student athletes and to provide schools with the information 

and equipment needed to ensure other students do not 

suffer from heat stroke; 


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Whereas the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation has distributed more than 130,000 water bottles and heat illness 

prevention pamphlets to children and athletes throughout 

the United States; 

Whereas the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation oversees 

consultation with school district athletic programs to ensure they have procedures in place to prevent heat illness 

and dehydration; 

Whereas the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation provides 

heat stroke awareness and steps for prevention at local 

health fairs, community events, and the Annual Youth 

Run through ‘‘cool huts’’, misting stations, and free ice 

water; 

Whereas Gatorade Company joined forces with the National 

Football League to lead a nationwide ‘‘Beat the Heat’’ 

campaign aimed at educating parents and football coaches about the importance of hydration in order to keep 

athletes safe in the hot summer months; 

Whereas Gatorade Company and the National Football 

League held Gatorade Donation Days at training camps 

to raise money to raise awareness of the Kendrick 

Fincher Memorial Foundation; and 

Whereas as a result of the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation’s efforts, Rhonda Fincher, motivated by the belief 

no other parent should experience the heartache of a preventable death of his or her child, successfully changed 

many school athletic policies and procedures at the local, 

State, and national level: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That— 

3 (1) it is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (A) National Heat Stroke Awareness 

2 Month provides an opportunity to educate the 

3 people of the United States about heat stroke; 

4 (B) all Americans should applaud the 

5 Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation for its 

6 efforts in promoting awareness about heat 

7 stroke; and 

8 (C) policymakers, parents, coaches, student 

9 athletes, not-for-profit organizations, and other 

10 members of the community should work to in11 crease awareness and prevention of heat stroke; 

12 and 

13 (2) Congress urges national and community or14 ganizations, businesses in the private sector, and the 

15 media, through National Heat Stroke Awareness 

16 Month to promote the awareness of heat stroke. 

Æ 


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