[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 122, 110th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
[NOTE: Sept. 22, 2008 -  [H.Con.Res.296]   NATIONAL HEAT STROKE
AWARENESS MONTH--SUPPORT

Whereas heat stroke is a medical emergency that can be fatal if not
properly and promptly treated, and 50 percent of those with heat
stroke die from it;

Whereas children absorb more heat from a hot environment because they
have greater surface area-to-body mass ratio than adults;

Whereas the smaller the child, the faster he or she can overheat;

Whereas children and adolescents may have a reduced ability to dissipate
heat through sweating;


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Whereas children and adolescents frequently do not have the
physiological drive to drink enough fluids to replenish sweat losses
during prolonged exercise;

Whereas youth athletes may be more easily distracted by teammates and
spectators when given the opportunity to rest and rehydrate;

Whereas a recent study found that 70 percent of afterschool athletes
arrive on the playing field already dehydrated;

Whereas heat-induced illness is one of the most preventable sports
ailments and parents, young athletes, and coaches need to understand
the physiological factors that increase the risk for heat-related
illness and take steps to prevent it;

Whereas 13-year-old Kendrick Fincher from Rogers, Arkansas, collapsed
during an August pre-season football practice, was rushed to the
hospital, and for the next 18 days his family waited anxiously for
him to regain consciousness, tragically never regained
consciousness, and died on August 25, 1995, from multi-system organ
failure as a result of heat stroke;

Whereas Kendrick's parents, Rhonda and Mike Fincher, founded the
Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation in honor of their son, with the
aim to raise awareness of the potentially deadly consequences of
dehydration for student athletes and to provide schools with the
information and equipment needed to ensure other students do not
suffer from heat stroke;

Whereas the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation has distributed more
than 130,000 water bottles and heat illness prevention pamphlets to
children and athletes throughout the United States;

Whereas the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation oversees consultation
with school district athletic programs to ensure they have
procedures in place to prevent heat illness and dehydration;

Whereas the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation provides heat stroke
awareness and steps for prevention at local health fairs, community
events, and the Annual Youth Run through ``cool huts'', misting
stations, and free ice water;

Whereas Gatorade Company joined forces with the National Football League
to lead a nationwide ``Beat the Heat'' campaign aimed at educating
parents and football coaches about the importance of hydration in
order to keep athletes safe in the hot summer months; and

Whereas Gatorade Company and the National Football League held Gatorade
Donation Days at training camps to raise money to raise awareness of
the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That--
(1) it is the sense of Congress that--
(A) National Heat Stroke Awareness Month provides an
opportunity to educate the people of the United States
about heat stroke;
(B) the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation should
be applauded for its efforts in promoting awareness
about heat stroke; and
(C) policymakers, parents, coaches, student
athletes, not-for-profit organizations, and other
members of the

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community should work to increase awareness and
prevention of heat stroke; and
(2) Congress urges national and community organizations,
businesses in the private sector, and the media, through
National Heat Stroke Awareness Month to promote the awareness of
heat stroke.

Agreed to September 22, 2008.