SENATE RESOLUTION

                               8630

By Senators Gardner, McCaslin, Johnson, Hale, Spanel, Winsley and Kohl-Welles

     WHEREAS, an increase in support for women=s health can make a significant difference in improving the status of women=s health; and

     WHEREAS, Women are different, metabolically, hormonally, and physiologically from men and have different patterns of health and disease and some diseases are more common in women than in men; and

     WHEREAS, Women are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases B more than one in five women have some form of cardiovascular disease and one in two women will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime; and

     WHEREAS, Women are three times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis and two to three times more likely to suffer from depression; and

     WHEREAS, Women are less often referred for diagnostic tests and less often treated for heart disease as compared to men; and

     WHEREAS, Women, if they are smokers, are 20-70 percent more likely to develop lung cancer and ten times more likely than men to contract HIV during unprotected sex; and

     WHEREAS, Women outnumber men three to one in long-term care facilities; and

     WHEREAS, Women are much more likely to provide health care to family members and make health care decisions and spend two of every three health care dollars;

     NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Washington State Senate recognize and commend the efforts of those in the healthcare profession, private sector, and in public service who are striving to achieve an equality in the services, care, and benefits for women, including:

$Providing women equal access to quality health care, including state-of-the-art medical advances and technology;

$Increasing the number of women covered by comprehensive health care insurance including primary and preventative health care, for all women;            

$Preventing serious health problems by timely diagnosis and treatment programs;

$Promoting strategies to increase patient access to recommended diagnostic and screening tests, preventive health regimens, and recommended treatments;

$Encouraging unimpeded access to women=s specialty health providers;

$Creating and promoting public/private partnerships to create programs designed to improve the scope and quality of women=s health care;

$Improving communications between providers and patients;

$Continuing to expand participation of women in clinical trials;

$Increasing government and private research on women=s health issues and the differences between men and women and how they impact quality health care;

$Conducting more health outcome-research to demonstrate the value of women=s health care interventions and preventive health measures in both the long and short-term;

$Expanding medical and nursing school curricula in the area of women=s health; educating about gender biology;

$Supporting public education campaigns to increase women=s awareness about their unique health risks, how to negotiate the complexities of today=s health care system and demand/obtain the best care available;

$Conducting public health campaigns to raise awareness of women=s special health care needs and advocating initiatives to address them;

$Fostering development and dissemination of publicly available information on the quality of health care and health outcomes that improve women=s ability to choose the best women=s health care plan;

$Expanding screening programs targeted at lower-income women to include a full range of known risk factors;

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate recognize and commend the organization, Women In Government, for its leadership in such issues as creating public awareness, seeking to improve access for women to quality health care, technologies and treatments, educating researchers about gender differences, and working to achieve unimpeded access to women=s health providers.

I, Tony M. Cook, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 8630,

adopted by the Senate April 16, 2001.

TONY M. COOK

Secretary of the Senate