Agenda Text
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Proclaiming May 2019 as Asthma Awareness Month.
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Official Text
ASTHMA AWARENESS MONTH RESOLUTION LANGUAGE
WHEREAS, Asthma has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, affecting an estimated 25.9 million people; and
WHEREAS, Asthma is a long-term, inflammatory, and potentially life-threatening disease in which the airways of the lungs constrict, causing wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing; and
WHEREAS, Asthma is one of the leading causes of childhood hospitalizations, long-term illness, and school absenteeism, accounting for nearly 10.5 million missed school days each year; and
WHEREAS, In 2017, 352 Somerville Public School students had an asthma diagnosis, representing 7.1% percent of the District’s students; and
WHEREAS, The Community of Somerville grieves the loss of two beloved young people from asthma attacks in the fall of 2016, Laura Levis at age 34 and Jahmai Furtado-Cooper at age 10, just as we mourn any asthma-related loss of life in Somerville that may not be known to us; and
WHEREAS, Our community seeks to do all it can to prevent another tragedy; and
WHEREAS, 10 people die each day of asthma in our country; and
WHEREAS, Each year nearly 2 million people are rushed to the emergency room from asthma; and
WHEREAS, exposure to highway pollutants can cause or aggravate asthma, and many Somerville residents live close to major highway traffic; and
WHEREAS, Asthma, as a disease is unpredictable and each attack can differ from any other, in some cases leaving only minutes for a patient to receive life-saving medical care, thus requiring awareness of the possibility of severity from first responders, family, friends, caregivers, neighbors, and the patients themselves; and
WHEREAS, The Community of Somerville seeks to ensure the safety and wellbeing of every resident and will continue to pursue and promote public education, reduction of exposure to asthma causes and triggers, and adoption of emerging practices in rapid first response; NOW, THEREFORE
Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the Somerville City Council hereby proclaim
May 2019 Asthma Awareness Month in Somerville, Massachusetts.