As Amended by House Committee
Session of 1999
House Concurrent Resolution No. 5014
By Committee on Health and Human Services (By Request of the
Health Care Reform Legislative Oversight Committee)
1-29
11 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the establishment of an in-
12 terdisciplinary council on brain seizures.
13
14 WHEREAS, Epilepsy is a prevalent serious neurological disorder
15 which occurs across all age groups, race, origin and gender; and
16 WHEREAS, Research indicates that epilepsy is a disease which has a
17 great potential for rehabilitation and greater cost effectiveness for treat-
18 ment; and
19 WHEREAS, Uncontrollable epileptic seizures can affect all areas of
20 the afflicted person's life to the extent of losing jobs, social relationships
21 and the privilege of driving a motorized vehicle in Kansas, K.S.A. 1998
22 Supp 8-247; and
23 WHEREAS, Over 90% of persons with epilepsy are educable, should
24 be able to lead fruitful lives and hold jobs if their seizures could be con-
25 trolled; and
26 WHEREAS, Doctor Ivan Osorio, director of the Kansas Medical Cen-
27 ter's comprehensive epilepsy center, in conjunction with other institutions
28 is developing a warning device that will remove the unpredictability of
29 the seizures, thus, improving the afflicted person's quality of life; and
30 WHEREAS, The device should predict such seizures with great ac-
31 curacy within a range of 30 seconds to about three minutes of when the
32 seizure will occur; and
33 WHEREAS, The development of the automated treatment device
34 which will deliver treatment only when needed and only to the part of
35 the brain where it is needed will effectively reduce the cost of care and
36 replace daily medications which may have side effects even worse than
37 the seizures: Now, therefore,
38 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas,
39 the Senate concurring therein: That a Kansas Interdisciplinary Institute
40 for Epilepsy be established to continue to find cost effective, compas-
41 sionate alternatives of treatment to current modes of therapy for persons
42 with epilepsy and to find other applications for use of such treatments
43 for other disciplines involved in the institute; and
44 Be it further resolved: That the Kansas Interdisciplinary Institute for
45 Epilepsy shall consult with the Commission on Epilepsy to avoid dupli-
46 cation of services; and
47 Be it further resolved: That the Board of Regents be involved in sup-
48 porting the institute and that the institute confer and work with Dr. Ivan
49 Osorio and his colleagues to further develop their device which can pre-
50 dict and control the seizures; and
51 Be it further resolved: That the institute prepare and submit a report
52 with recommendations to the Board of Regents, Governor and Legisla-
53 ture during the 2000 legislative session.