First Regular Session
Sixty-second General Assembly
LLS NO. R990811.01 Beth
Braby
STATE OF COLORADO
BY SENATORS Dennis, Hillman, and Reeves;
also REPRESENTATIVE Alexander.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 99-014
CONCERNING OSTEOPOROSIS PREVENTION, TREATMENT, AND
PUBLIC EDUCATION.
WHEREAS, Osteoporosis is a bonethinning disease
and is a major public health problem that poses a threat to the
health and quality of life of as many as twentyfive million
Americans; and
WHEREAS, Osteoporosis progresses silently and without
sensation over many years, and many cases of osteoporosis remain
undiagnosed until a fracture of the hip, spine, or wrist occurs;
and
WHEREAS, Approximately one million five hundred thousand
bone fractures each year are attributable to osteoporosis; and
WHEREAS, Statistics indicate that one out of two
women and one out of five men will suffer from an osteoporotic
fracture in their lifetime; and
WHEREAS, A woman's risk of hip fracture is equal
to her combined risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer; and
WHEREAS, These fractures cause pain, disability,
immobility, social isolation, poor quality of life, and an inability
to live independently; and
WHEREAS, The annual direct and indirect costs of
osteoporosis to the health care system were estimated to be as
high as eighteen billion dollars in 1993 and are expected to rise
to sixty or eighty billion dollars by the year 2020; and
WHEREAS, Osteoporosis is a multigenerational issue,
since strong bones during youth and preserving them through adulthood
may prevent fractures later in life; and
WHEREAS, Most citizens, including physicians and
health care providers, continue to lack knowledge about the prevention,
detection, and treatment of osteoporosis; and
WHEREAS, Since there is no cure for osteoporosis,
emphasis must be placed on other means of disease awareness and
prevention including, but not limited to, education of medical
experts, service providers, and the general public regarding prevention.
This approach may be the only means of assuring that osteoporosis
will be preventable and treatable in the future, thereby reducing
the costs of longterm care; and
WHEREAS, Educating the general public and health
care community about this potentially devastating disease is of
paramount importance and is to the benefit of all residents of
the state of Colorado; and
WHEREAS, The University of Colorado Health Sciences
Center currently has programs that study the effects and impacts
of osteoporosis; and
WHEREAS, The different departments of the Colorado
Health Sciences Center, including but not limited to the School
of Nursing , the School of Pharmacy, the Center on Aging, and
the Area Health Education Centers, may work together in order
to provide additional support to urban and rural areas of the
state of Colorado regarding the prevention of and education about
osteoporosis; and
WHEREAS, Several private pharmaceutical companies
that are currently studying medications that might curb the negative
effects of osteoporosis could form private and public partnerships,
in order to more effectively contribute funds to educate the people
of the state of Colorado about this debilitating disease; now,
therefore,
Be It Resolved By the Senate of the Sixtysecond
General Assembly, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
(1) That the General Assembly hereby recognizes
the need to prevent and treat osteoporosis through public awareness,
education of medical experts and service providers, research,
and community outreach.
(2) That the General Assembly hereby encourages
the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center to work with
the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and other
public and private organizations in order to achieve these goals.
(3) That fighting osteoporosis is a top
priority of the state of Colorado in order to ensure the health,
safety, and welfare of its residents.
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the Department of Public Health and Environment.