Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 101 Part 3.djvu/927

 PROCLAMATION 5735—NOV. 4, 1987

101 STAT. 2225

for terminally ill patients to approach death naturally in a supportive environment and surrounded by family members. Hospices foster personal care, comfort, and full living, with attention to physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, especially those relating to pain and grief. The enactment in recent years of a permanent Medicare hospice benefit and an optional Medicaid benefit makes this care a possibility for more Americans. The most important focus of hospice care is concern for patients and their families. This emphasis on the sanctity of human life and the dignity and worth of every individual is exactly why we set aside a time to salute the professional staffs of our Nation's approximately 1,700 hospices and the thousands of volunteers who give freely of themselves in this endeavor. The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 234, has designated November 1987 as "National Hospice 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 November 1987 as National Hospice Month. I urge all government agencies, the health care community, appropriate private organizations, and the people of the United States to observe the month of November with appropriate programs and activities to recognize and support hospice care. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twelfth. RONALD REAGAN

Proclamation 5735 of November 4, 1987

National Tourette Syndrome Awareness Week, 1987 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Tourette syndrome is a little-understood neurological disorder characterized by compulsive repetitive behaviors. Tic-like grimacing, shoulder-shrugging, sniffing, grunting, and coughing are common symptoms of the disorder; less frequent but perhaps more alarming symptoms include uncontrollable vocalizations, head-banging, and other involuntary self-destructive actions. An estimated 100,000 Americans have Tourette syndrome to a noticeable degree. Those with tic disorders may number as high as 3.5 million. Symptoms appear in childhood, between the ages of 2 and 16 years, and wax and wane over time but do not seem to become progressively worse. Males are three times more likely to have the disorder than females. Within the Federal government, the search for answers to why people get Tourette syndrome and what is behind its puzzling symptoms is led by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINCDS). Research teams at NINCDS and grantee institutions, together with scientific colleagues in the private sector, are tracing and analyzing

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