Your Chance to Weigh In On Stock Epinephrine Legislation (Courtesy of AANMA)

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I am proud to be from Illinois, where we already have excellent guidelines in place for the protection of food allergic children, and also have a stock epinephrine law on the books. I am also so pleased that my state's U.S. Senators have teamed up to co-sponsor a bipartisan bill designed to keep the children of America safe from severe allergic reactions. Read on to learn more!


Your Chance to Weigh In On
Stock Epinephrine Legislation

The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, which would encourage states to require that schools keep lifesaving epinephrine on hand, is now in front of the U.S. Senate, bringing it one step closer to passage. You can make a difference by contacting your Senators today to ask for their support.

S. 1503 was introduced by Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and co-sponsored by 23 other senators. The companion bill, sponsored by Rep. Phil Roe, MD (R-Tenn.) and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.), was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 30.

The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act would provide incentives for states to adopt laws requiring schools to have "stock" epinephrine auto-injectors, which is epinephrine that is not prescribed to a specific student but can be used for any student or staff member in an anaphylactic emergency. Between 20-25% of life-threatening allergic reactions happen at school without prior knowledge of allergies.

Now is your chance to help.

Call or email your Senators today. Find contact information here.

Suggested talking points:
  • S. 1503 -- Sponsored by Senators Durbin and Kirk, the bill would encourage epinephrine auto-injectors be stocked in schools.
  • As a [parent of a child at risk of anaphylaxis] [constituent] [school nurse/teacher/other], urge them to cosponsor S. 1503.
Twenty-eight states already have laws or guidelines in place allowing schools to stock undesignated epinephrine auto-injectors. Check AANMA's USAnaphylaxis™ Map (www.aanma.org/USAnaphylaxis) to see the status of laws in your state.

Questions? Contact Kimberly Turner, kturner@aanma.org.

Comments

  1. Latha - Allergist Columbus EastOctober 18, 2013 at 3:20 PM

    I can't see why this wouldn't be passed. I actually would've though nearly all schools to have an epi-pen in building at all times. Honestly wouldn't have given it a second thought if I didn't read your article. Thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete

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