Youngstown Daily Legal News

Bill would allow schools to keep EpiPens on hand

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to Legal News
Published: December 9, 2013

After gaining unanimous support in the House, a bill that would permit public schools to procure epinephrine autoinjectors without a license for use in specified emergency situations is moving on to the Senate.

House Bill 296, sponsored by Reps. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, and Mike Duffey, R-Worthington, would permissively allow a school or school district to stock doses of epinephrine on school premises.

If enacted, the proposed legislation would grant public schools and their employees immunity from liability in a civil action for damages allegedly arising from the use of an epinephrine autoinjector in accordance with the bill’s provisions.

HB 296 also would authorize drug manufacturers to donate epinephrine autoinjectors to public schools and allow public schools to accept financial donations for the purchase of epinephrine autoinjectors.

Before the bill cleared the House last week, Sandy Oxley, the CEO of Voices for Ohio’s Children, testified in support of the measure before the House Education committee.

“Voices believes HB 296 has the potential to save children’s lives by allowing schools to store epinephrine autoinjectors in emergency cases of anaphylaxis,” she said. “Too many times, a child isn’t aware of a food allergy before it’s tragically too late.”

Oxley said as many as 25 percent of children who experience anaphylaxis experience it for the first time at school.

“When taken within minutes of a severe reaction, EpiPens could mean the difference between life and death. Every second counts,” she said, noting that EpiPens deliver a single dose of epinephrine that reduces swelling by constricting blood vessels, relaxing the airways and keeping blood pressure from dangerously dropping.

“Giving schools the option to store EpiPens for emergency situations is the right thing to do. Kids win big when policy makers make the right decisions.”

HB 296 would charge participating schools with outlining procedures for epinephrine autoinjector usage.

“For example, schools that elect to store EpiPens must first adopt a policy regarding their maintenance and use, and that policy must be made with the consultation of a licensed health professional who is authorized to prescribe,” Oxley said, adding that measures similar to HB 296 have been introduced all over the nation.

“A total of 27 states have laws that allow schools to stock EpiPens, with 16 states passing legislation this year alone,” she said. “We would do well to notice that this is an issue all across the country, and that other states have met that call to action.”

Summit Shah, a Columbus-based pediatric allergist who is also the father of a child with a food allergy, also pushed for the bill’s passage.

“In my years of practice, I have seen thousands of children and adults with food allergies. Symptoms of food allergies range in severity from slight itching of the skin to anaphylaxis and even death,” he said.

Shah said it’s “astounding” that nearly 10 percent of all children have food allergies. He went on to say the numbers of affected children continue to rise.

“There are many theories as to why that is the case, but the fact remains that food allergies are an epidemic that our children and our children’s children will continue to face,” he said. “In my practice, I have taken steps to ensure that every child I diagnose with a food allergy has an epinephrine autoinjector to use in case of accidental ingestion or contact with their allergenic foods.”

While children who have been diagnosed often have an epinephrine autoinjector, Shah said that as food allergies continue to rise, there has been an increased number of anaphylactic reactions at school with undiagnosed children.

“I can tell you that based on my experience as an allergist, when these reactions occur the window for action is very narrow. Simply waiting on a paramedic to arrive with life-saving epinephrine is not sufficient,” he said. “We have seen stories in the media of children who have passed away because epinephrine was administered too late or not administered at all.”

Shah said he can understand why some people may be apprehensive to allow school nurses to administer the drug.

“The epinephrine autoinjectors are dosed such that their use may cause a temporarily increased heart rate, but certainly they are not enough to cause complications in an otherwise healthy child,” he said. “The risk of death lies with not using epinephrine during that crucial period. The more we understand this drug and its life-saving abilities, we will not shy away from having it in our schools.”

HB 296 is awaiting a Senate committee assignment.

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