III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 296 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2008 

Received 

AUGUST 1, 2008 

Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

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 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; 


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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; 

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, 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, 

founded the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation in 

honor of their son, with the aim 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; and 

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: 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— 

4 (A) National Heat Stroke Awareness 

5 Month provides an opportunity to educate the 

6 people of the United States about heat stroke; 


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1 (B) the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foun2 dation should be applauded for its efforts in 

3 promoting awareness about heat stroke; and 

4 (C) policymakers, parents, coaches, student 

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

6 members of the community should work to in7 crease awareness and prevention of heat stroke; 

8 and 

9 (2) Congress urges national and community or10 ganizations, businesses in the private sector, and the 

11 media, through National Heat Stroke Awareness 

12 Month to promote the awareness of heat stroke. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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