TALLAHASSEE, Fla., APRIL 22, 2021 – American Bone Health, the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating consumers about bone health, and Healthy Bones Tampa Bay – a nonpartisan, grass-roots coalition of health care professionals, local and state policymakers and community advocates in the Greater Tampa Bay Area – thank the Florida Legislative Women’s Caucus for raising awareness of the importance of bone health by sponsoring a resolution proclaiming May 2021 as Osteoporosis Awareness Month in Florida. The proclamation will be adopted by legislative officials Wednesday, April 21, at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee.
American Bone Health and Healthy Bones Tampa Bay worked with members of the Florida Legislative Women’s Caucus including the bipartisan chairmen Rep. Jackie Toledo (R-District 60 and Sen. Janet Cruz (D-District 18) to draw up the resolution and build support for its adoption. The proclamation aims to increase awareness, screening and prevention of osteoporosis and to provide educational resources to inform and empower women to take charge of their bone health.
“American Bone Health and Healthy Bones Tampa Bay thank Rep. Jackie Toledo , Sen. Janet Cruz, and the Florida Legislative Women’s Caucus for their leadership in raising awareness about bone health,” said Cheryl Hostinak, Executive Director of American Bone Health. “Osteoporosis and fractures constitute a public health crisis affecting millions of Americans and costing the health system billions of dollars each year. By adopting this proclamation in Florida, the Legislative Women’s Caucus is helping to raise the groundswell that will be necessary to address this crisis.”
Osteoporosis is an age-related degenerative disease in which the bones become fragile and more likely to break. As many as one in two women and one in four men over 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
According to data released this year by the National Osteoporosis Foundation and the Milliman firm, 144,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Florida suffered 172,500 osteoporotic fractures in 2019. Nearly 19% of Medicare beneficiaries who suffered an osteoporotic fracture died within 12 months. The NOF/Milliman report ranked Florida among states with the highest rates of osteoporotic fractures and tied for the highest rate of additional fractures.
About American Bone Health and Healthy Bones Tampa Bay
American Bone Health is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating consumers about bone health in the communities where they live. Using practical and up-to-date information and resources, American Bone Health seeks to engage, educate and empower people to build strong and healthy bones for life. More information: AmericanBoneHealth.org.
In 2019, American Bone Health assembled a diverse coalition of stakeholders in the Greater Tampa Bay Area to form Healthy Bones Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Area has the highest rate of osteoporotic fractures among comparable U.S. metro areas. The goal of this community outreach campaign is to reduce the number of fractures in the Tampa Bay Area by 20% by 2025. More information: AmericanBoneHealth.org/hbtb.
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