Proclamation 5262—National Head Injury Awareness Month, 1984

Head injury is a very serious national health problem. As many as 700,000 Americans are hospitalized every year for head injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents, sporting mishaps, and falls. Of these patients, roughly 100,000 die. Another 50,000—mostly under the age of 30—suffer permanent brain damage that prevents them from returning to schools, jobs, or normal lives.

Each of these grim statistics represents a person whose bright future was suddenly and tragically altered. Added to each victim's suffering is the emotional and financial burden the family must bear. The total cost to the Nation for special care and lost productivity is enormous.

Health care professionals and educators throughout our Nation are helping those with head injuries to live as normally as possible. Through rehabilitation therapy and vocational counseling, many head injury patients are learning to lead productive lives in our society. Such efforts have been promoted by two voluntary health agencies: the National Head Injury Foundation and the Family Survivial [See APP Note] Project for Brain-Damaged Adults.

Biomedical research is also the source of increased hope. Investigators supported by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke are acquiring new information about what happens to the brain as a result of head injury. Leads from these studies will help scientists develop effective treatments to limit or prevent brain damage. With the combined support of voluntary health agencies and the Federal Government, the tragedy of head injury can be substantially reduced.

To encourage public recognition of and compassion for the complex problems caused by head injury, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 638, has designated the month of October 1984 as "National Head Injury Awareness Month" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1984 as National Head Injury Awareness Month. I call upon all government agencies, health organizations, communications media, and people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and ninth.

RONALD REAGAN