First Regular Session

Sixty-second General Assembly

LLS NO. R99­0858.01 Beth Braby

STATE OF COLORADO

BY SENATOR Dennis, Anderson, and Epps.

SENATE RESOLUTION 99-009

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:

(1)  That the Senate of 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 Senate of 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.