2022 -- H 8105

========

LC005606

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

____________

H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING APRIL 4-10 OF 2022 TO BE NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK IN THE

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Representatives Cassar, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Kislak, McNamara,
Serpa, Knight, Cortvriend, Tanzi, and Speakman

     Date Introduced: April 06, 2022

     Referred To: House Health & Human Services

     WHEREAS, The week of April 4-10, 2022, is National Public Health Week, and the

theme is "Public Health is Where You Are"; and

     WHEREAS, Since 1995, the American Public Health Association, through its

sponsorship of National Public Health Week, has educated the public, policymakers and public

health professionals about issues important to improving the public's health; and

     WHEREAS, United States life expectancy dropped from 2014 to 2017 in the longest

sustained decline since the Great Recession and only in 2018, began to increase again. United

States life expectancy then dropped again in 2020 by a full year, which is the largest drop in life

expectancy since 1943; and

     WHEREAS, There is a significant difference in health status, such as obesity, poor

mental health and drug use, among people living in rural areas compared with people living in

urban areas, and this variance increases because rural residents are often more likely to face social

determinants that negatively impact health, such as poverty, transportation barriers and lack of

economic opportunity; and

     WHEREAS, A person's health status can differ drastically by zip code due to differences

in the built environment, environmental quality, community context, access to healthy food,

access to education, and access to health care; and

     WHEREAS, Public health professionals help communities prevent, prepare for,

withstand and recover from the impact of a full range of health threats, including disease

outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, measles, natural disasters, and disasters caused by

human activity; and

     WHEREAS, Public health action, together with scientific and technological advances,

has played a major role in reducing and, in some cases, eliminating the spread of infectious

disease, and in establishing today's disease surveillance and control systems; and

     WHEREAS, Preventable risk factors such as such as physical inactivity, poor nutrition,

tobacco use and excessive alcohol use are leading causes of chronic disease; and 6 in 10 United

States adults have a chronic disease and 4 in 10 have two or more; and chronic diseases cause 7

of every 10 deaths annually in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated and exacerbated racial inequities

and a growing number of local and state governments, and public health leaders have declared

racism a public health crisis; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

commemorates April 4th through April 10th of 2022, as "National Health Week" and calls upon

the people of Rhode Island to use the observation of this week to help our families, friends,

neighbors, co-workers and leaders to better understand the value of public health and support

great opportunities to adopt preventive lifestyle habits in light of this year's theme, "Public Health

Is Where You Are"; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Acting Director James McDonald, MD,

MPH, Rhode Island Department of Health.

========

LC005606

========

LC005606 - Page 2 of 2