Proclamation 6691

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

All of us are potential victims of physical trauma. Even though we may lead relatively calm and safe lives, we can never fully escape the risks of traumatic injury. Each year, no fewer than 150,000 Americans die as a result of massive damage to skin or to internal organs, providing a sobering reminder that we must renew our efforts to create a healthier and safer society.

While traumatic physical injury threatens all of us, young children are at particularly high risk for its tragic effects. In fact, six times as many children are killed by traumatic incidence than by cancer. No matter who falls victim, trauma exacts a tremendous toll.

In addition to the vast physical and emotional suffering that occur, trauma also causes staggering economic losses. This year alone, Americans will spend more than $175 billion for the health care costs and loss of productivity associated with trauma.

We now consider trauma to be among the most neglected medical conditions in our country, and it is vital that we take steps to diminish its terrible damage.

Fortunately, we can substantially reduce the threat and the impact of traumatic injury through a concerted campaign of prevention and of improvement in care. By using established safety procedures in our homes and at work and by teaching basic safety to our children, we can significantly lower the number of traumatic accidents that occur each year. We can also help prevent many of the fatalities associated with trauma by learning how to properly treat its victims. By rededicating ourselves to understanding life-threatening trauma and by making the most effective uses of emergency medical services, we can all contribute to creating a healthier society.

The Congress, by Public Law 103-39, has designated May 1994 as "National Trauma Awareness Month," and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of May 1994 as National Trauma Awareness Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

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

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:10 p.m., May 19, 1994]