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PA Senate should consider bill to allow school storage of epi pens

Legislation to allow schools to store epinephrine to use in cases of an emergency has recently passed the state House of Representatives. The state senate is now considering the bill.

Today's guest blogger is Lynda Mitchell, Vice President for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). She leads AAFA's Kids With Food Allergies division, based in Doylestown.

One in 13 American children under the age of 18 lives with food allergies, and is at-risk for anaphylaxis — a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction. Epinephrine is indicated as the first-line emergency treatment for anaphylaxis, yet it is not currently available as a stock medicine for students in Pennsylvania schools.

Food allergies are the most common trigger of anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis can be fatal within minutes, often by causing swelling that shuts off airways or by triggering a significant drop in blood pressure.

Epinephrine — when administered promptly during the critical moments following exposure to a known allergen — can allow time for emergency responders to arrive and take the person to a hospital for further treatment. This medicine is typically administered with a device called an auto-injector.

Virginia lawmakers became far too familiar with the urgency of this issue in 2012, when 7-year-old Ammaria Johnson died from an allergic reaction at her Virginia school after eating a peanut given to her by another student. Ammaria did not have a prescribed epinephrine auto-injector available at school. After the tragedy, Virginia lawmakers moved quickly to require schools to stock their own supplies of emergency epinephrine that could potentially save the lives of other students who may experience anaphylaxis at school.

While Pennsylvania students with known allergies and a prescription can carry and administer their own epinephrine auto-injectors, schools in our state cannot store epinephrine for emergency use, and school employees who administer the medication in an emergency are not protected against liability.

This means that children who experience an allergic reaction for the first time at school do not have access to epinephrine, despite studies showing that the risks are high. Twenty-five percent of the severe and potentially life-threatening reactions reported at schools happen in children with previously undiagnosed allergies to foods, medication or insect stings, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC reports that the number of American children with food allergies increased 50 percent from 1997 to 2011, and more children are diagnosed every year. With food allergies on the rise, Pennsylvania cannot afford to wait to make epinephrine more accessible to our students.

Fortunately, Pennsylvania lawmakers have the opportunity this fall to help ensure that all school children, not just those with known allergies, have access to epinephrine in an emergency.

State Rep. Dick Stevenson (R-Mercer/Butler) and state Sen. Matt Smith (D Allegheny/Washington) have taken the lead in proposing and advancing state legislation which permits schools to stock epinephrine for emergency use and train school employees to administer the medication to students experiencing anaphylaxis.

The legislation – H.B. 803 – has already passed the state House of Representatives. It's now up to the Pennsylvania Senate to make we have an epinephrine stocking bill that becomes law.

In this day and age, there are enough unpredictable tragedies that occur in America's schools; being ill-equipped to protect kids who have life-threatening allergies does not need to be one of them.

The Pennsylvania Senate should swiftly pass this bipartisan legislation to help make sure all children living with severe allergies are safe at school – not just those who have previously been diagnosed.

Sign up for AAFA action alerts for H.B. 803 at http://cqrcengage.com/aafa/epinephrine.

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