093_HB0215

 
                                     LRB093 02612 MKM 02622 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to public health.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  5.  The  Department  of Public Health Powers and
 5    Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code  of  Illinois  is
 6    amended by adding Section 2310-377 as follows:

 7        (20 ILCS 2310/2310-377 new)
 8        Sec. 2310-377.  Lupus education and outreach.
 9        (a)  The Illinois General Assembly finds and declares the
10    following:
11             (1)  Lupus   is  a  chronic,  incurable  auto-immune
12        disease of unknown origin that mainly  affects  women  of
13        childbearing  age,  is  difficult to diagnose, and causes
14        severe, potentially life-threatening organ damage.
15             (2)  The Lupus Foundation of America estimates  that
16        1.4 million people in the U.S. have a form of lupus.
17             (3)  Lupus  causes  the  immune system to attack the
18        body's healthy cells and tissues producing  skin  damage,
19        rheumatoid  arthritis,  life-threatening  inflammation of
20        multiple major organs, and a potentially fatal failure of
21        the renal, circulatory, or central nervous system.
22             (4)  Symptoms include joint pain, rash, unusual loss
23        of hair, unexplained fever, low blood counts, sensitivity
24        to the sun, and fingers that turn  pale  or  purple  when
25        exposed to cold.
26             (5)  According to the Lupus Foundation of America, a
27        survey of its members revealed that more than half of all
28        people  with  lupus  suffered  4  or  more years and were
29        examined by 3 or more doctors before obtaining a  correct
30        diagnosis.
31             (6)  According to the Center for Disease Control and
 
                            -2-      LRB093 02612 MKM 02622 b
 1        Prevention,  the  number  of lupus-related deaths between
 2        1979 and 1988 increased  dramatically;  African  American
 3        women,  ages  45-64,  experienced  a  70%  increase,  the
 4        largest  increase  among  all  groups  in  the  20  years
 5        studied.
 6        (b)  The   Department  shall  conduct  an  education  and
 7    outreach campaign in  order  to  raise  awareness  about  the
 8    symptoms    and    treatment    of   lupus,   a   potentially
 9    life-threatening disease.