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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 296 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  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;
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;
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
    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) the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation should 
                be applauded 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.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 2008.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.
```