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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Epilepsy Awareness is a nationwide effort to
3raise awareness about and change the conversation around
4epilepsy, seizures, and side effects as well as to improve and
5save lives through care, advocacy, research, new therapies,
6public health, and education; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Epilepsy is a brain disorder characterized by
8recurrent and unprovoked seizures that can affect anyone at
9any age at any time; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Epilepsy is also a spectrum disease comprised of
11many diagnoses and experiences and includes a wide range of
12seizure types, comorbidities, control, severity, and outcomes
13that vary from person-to-person; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological
15disorder; approximately 3.4 million people in the United
16States live with active epilepsy, including 137,000 people in
17the State of Illinois; and
 
18    WHEREAS, In the U.S., approximately more than 324,000
19Hispanic Americans and more than 578,000 Black, non-Hispanic
20Americans live with epilepsy, with latter more likely to be
21diagnosed with epilepsy over their lifetime due to a variety

 

 

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1of factors, such as strokes and head injuries; for some people
2with epilepsy, disparities in care exist that lead to worse
3outcomes; for instance, individuals often experience
4significant delays in obtaining an appropriate diagnosis if
5they are American Indian, Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific
6Islander, Native Hawaiian, or a member of other indigenous
7groups; and
 
8    WHEREAS, An increasing number of people are diagnosed with
9rare epilepsies which are largely complex, severe, chronic,
10and even life-threatening; collectively, rare epilepsies
11account for a growing percentage of the epilepsy population;
12and
 
13    WHEREAS, People with epilepsy need access to affordable,
14comprehensive, physician-directed, and person-centered
15healthcare; delays in accessing effective treatments increase
16the likelihood of breakthrough seizures and related
17complications, including injury, disability, or even Sudden
18Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP); each year, it is thought
19that one in 1,000 people with epilepsy die from SUDEP, and this
20number increases drastically to one out of 150 for people
21whose epilepsy is not controlled by treatment; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Many treatments are approved to treat seizures,
23yet 30 to 40% of people with epilepsy still live with

 

 

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1uncontrolled seizures, and epilepsy-related medical costs
2associated with uncontrolled epilepsy are two to ten times
3higher than those of controlled epilepsy; and
 
4    WHEREAS, In the last year, 21% of people with epilepsy
5have reported not being able to afford their prescription
6medications; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Non-medical drivers of health, such as social,
8economic, and environmental conditions including housing,
9employment, food security, transportation, and education,
10account for 80 to 90% of a person's health outcome; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Epilepsy and/or seizures impose an annual
12economic burden on healthcare of $54 billion; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In the U.S., 470,000 children live with epilepsy
14and 336,000 kids have at least one seizure annually; on
15average, students with epilepsy aged 6 to 17 years old have
16missed 11 or more days of school during the past year; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Protections exist for those with epilepsy in the
18Americans with Disabilities Act and related civil rights laws;
19despite these protections, people with epilepsy still
20encounter discrimination in a number of areas, including
21employment, education, and housing; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
2ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare November
32023 as Epilepsy Awareness Month in the State of Illinois; and
4be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
6presented to the Epilepsy Foundation of Chicago, the Epilepsy
7Foundation of Southern Illinois, the Danny Did Foundation, and
8CURE.