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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 296 Introduced in House (IH)]

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;
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;
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
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) it is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) National Heat Stroke Awareness Month provides 
                an opportunity to educate the people of the United 
                States about heat stroke;
                    (B) all Americans should applaud the Kendrick 
                Fincher Memorial Foundation for its efforts in 
                promoting awareness about heat stroke; and
                    (C) policymakers, parents, coaches, student 
                athletes, not-for-profit organizations, and other 
                members of the community should work to increase 
                awareness and prevention of heat stroke; and
            (2) Congress urges national and community organizations, 
        businesses in the private sector, and the media, through 
        National Heat Stroke Awareness Month to promote the awareness 
        of heat stroke.
                                 <all>
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