2004 STATES AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

 

In 2002 and 2003 a majority of the States Governor proclaimed November as COPD Awareness Month in their respective States. The Governor’s names and their email addresses are listed in the Table below. (If an actual earlier proclamation is available on the Internet, it can be viewed by clicking on the underlined State name). Now is the time for each of us to write our State Governor at the address on the Table below and ask that he/she (again) proclaim November as COPD Awareness Month in their State.

 

Here’s a sample letter………..You may simply copy it to an email (signing it with your own name and address), or you may modify it. Either way, though, please send a letter.

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Dear Governor:

In 2002 and 2003 a majority of the US State Governors proclaimed November as COPD Awareness Month in their respective States. I am asking that you now continue this practice and proclaim November 2004 as COPD Awareness Month. Increasing awareness of this disease, especially among the general public, is a very important first step to combat it, and your proclamation can make a very significant difference.

 

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a blanket term for chronic bronchitis and emphysema, alone or in combination. COPD is little known by the general public but it is the fourth largest killer in America, and is the only one of the major killers whose rate is actually increasing from year to year. Simply increasing public awareness of this disease could lead to earlier diagnosis, less severity, and a significant reduction in its prevalence. I have COPD, and am a member of EFFORTS, a group of about 1800 patients actively working to get improved care and treatment for the millions now afflicted, and for education and action to prevent the development of future millions more.

 

The National Institutes of Health provides these latest published facts about COPD (for the years 2000-2001):

 - 12.1 million adults over the age of  25 in the US have been diagnosed with COPD by a physician.

 - About 24 million adults in the US have symptoms of impaired lung function, indicating that COPD is under-diagnosed.

 - About 119,000 adults died of COPD in the US in 2000, making COPD the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Unless the rate of increase is turned around, it will likely be the third leading cause by 2020.  

 - COPD accounted for 8 million office visits to doctors, 1.5 million ER visits, and 726,000 hospitalizations in the US in 2000.

 - COPD cost the economy of the United States an estimated $32.1 billion in 2000.

Establishment of a COPD Awareness Month will help raise public awareness about COPD - its danger, its prevalence, and the great value of early diagnosis to prevent its undetected progression to severe debilitating stages and early death. Your proclamation will be an important part of the effort.

Sincerely,

 

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STATE	GOVERNOR	GOVERNOR'S EMAIL ADDRESS
AL	Bob Riley	http://www.governor.state.al.us/email/contact_form.htm
AK	Frank H. Murkowski	office_of_the_governor@gov.state.ak.us
AZ	Janet Napolitano	http://www.governor.state.az.us/post/feedback.asp
AR	Mike Huckabee	mike.huckabee@state.ar.us
CA	Arnold Schwarzenegger	governor@governor.ca.gov
CO	Bill Owens	governorowens@state.co.us
CT	M. Jodi Rell	Governor.Rell@po.state.ct.us
DC	Tony Williams (Mayor)	http://dc.gov/mayor/talk.htm
DE	Ruth Ann Minner	http://www.state.de.us/governor/comments.shtml
FL	Jeb Bush	jeb@myflorida.com
GA	Sonny Perdue	http://gov.state.ga.us/contact_dom.shtml
HI	Linda Lingle	gov@hawaii.gov
ID	Dirk Kempthorne	http://www.state.id.us/gov/correspondence.htm
IL	Rod R. Blagojevich	governor@state.il.us
IA	Thomas Vilsack	http://www.state.ia.us/government/governor/comments/capitol_correspond/index.html
IN	Joe Kernan	http://www.ai.org/gov/contact/index.html
KS	Kathleen Sebelius	governor@state.ks.us
KY	Ernie Fletcher	http://governor.ky.gov/contact.htm
LA	Kathleen Blanco	http://www.gov.state.la.us/govemail.asp
ME	John Elias Baldacci	governor@maine.gov
MA	Mitt Romney	http://www.mass.gov/Agovwebmail/WebMailPageControl.ser?level=101
MD	Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.	http://www.gov.state.md.us/
MI	Jennifer M. Granholm	http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-21995---,00.html
MN	Tim Pawlenty	tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us
MS	Haley Barbour	http://www.governorbarbour.com/Data/Services/Services.asp
MO	Bob Holden	mogov@mail.state.mo.us
MT	Judy Martz	http://www.discoveringmontana.com/gov/contact.htm
NE	Mike Johanns	http://gov.nol.org/proclamations/proclamation.html
NV	Kenny Guinn	http://gov.state.nv.us/mailgov.htm
NH	Craig Benson	benson@nh.gov
NJ	James E. McGreevey	http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html
NC	Michael F. Easley	http://www.governor.state.nc.us/email.asp?to=1
ND	John Hoeven	governor@state.nd.us
NM	Bill Richardson	constituent.services@state.nm.us
NY	George E. Pataki	http://www.state.ny.us/governor/
OH	Bob Taft	http://governor.ohio.gov/contactinfopage.asp
OK	Brad Henry	http://www.governor.state.ok.us/message.php
OR	Ted Kulongoski	http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/contact_us.shtml
PA	Edward G Rendell	http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Governor/govmail.html
PR	Sila M. Calderón	http://www.gobierno.pr/GPRPortal/StandAlone/ContactUs.aspx
RI	Donald L. Carcieri	rigov@gov.state.ri.us
SC	Mark Sanford	governor@govoepp.state.sc.us
SD	Mike Rounds	sdgov@gov.state.sd.us
TN	Phil Bredesen	phil.bredesen@state.tn.us
TX	Rick Perry	http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact/contact_email.htm
UT	Olene Walker	http://www.governor.utah.gov/goca/form_governor.html
VA	Mark R. Warner	http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Contact/email_form.html
VI	Charles Turnbull	(none)
VT	James Douglas	http://www.vermont.gov/governor/contact.html
WA	Gary Locke	http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/govemail.htm
WI	Jim Doyle	http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/contact.asp
WY	Dave Freudenthal	Governor@state.wy.us
WV	Bob Wise	http://www.wvgov.org/New_eform.cfm

 

 

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