SENATE MEMORIAL 78

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

William E. Sharer

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING MARCH 12, 2009 "NEW MEXICO KIDNEY DAY" IN THE SENATE.

     WHEREAS, March is national kidney month in the United States and March 12, 2009 is world kidney day; and

     WHEREAS, world kidney day is a global campaign designed to raise awareness of kidney disease and its associated health problems worldwide; and

     WHEREAS, this campaign is celebrated every year on the second Thursday of March in more than one hundred countries and on six continents; and

     WHEREAS, the 2009 campaign focuses on the importance of prevention and early detection of kidney disease, particularly the awareness of high blood pressure that, along with diabetes, is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease; and

     WHEREAS, according to the federal department of health and human services, kidney disease is the ninth-leading cause of death in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, in 2000, more than twenty-six million Americans had chronic kidney disease; however, in the years 1999 to 2004, only forty-two percent of Americans with severe kidney disease, and fewer than ten percent of those with less severe cases of kidney disease, were aware of their condition; and

     WHEREAS, over one million five hundred thousand people around the world receive dialysis or have had a kidney transplant; and

     WHEREAS, according to the national kidney foundation, chronic kidney disease can strike young and middle-aged adults as well as seniors, doubling their risk for premature heart attack, stroke and death; and

     WHEREAS, risk factors for chronic kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, a family history of kidney disease, and, for people over the age of fifty, obesity and urinary tract and other systemic infections; and

     WHEREAS, once contracted, it is unlikely that kidney disease can be cured, making prevention and early detection critical in the control of the disease; and

     WHEREAS, raising awareness about kidney function as well as kidney disease is a crucial activity for all medical professionals, health authorities and the general public;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that March 12, 2009 be declared "New Mexico Kidney Day" in the senate; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health be encouraged to promote the importance of prevention and early detection of kidney disease during the month of March and beyond.

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