The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act permits Pennsylvania schools to store epinephrine auto-injectors to administer to students experiencing potentially life-threatening allergic reactions. It requires trained school staff to complete an epinephrine administration program. Several school districts are coordinating training for staff and faculty to learn proper epinephrine storage and use. The EpiPen4Schools program provides qualifying schools with free epinephrine auto-injectors. Epinephrine provides quick relief and is the recommended treatment for anaphylaxis, with immediate medical care still required after administration. The act helps protect students with known and unknown allergies.

1. L A N C A S T E R 18 PH Y S I C I A N
L A N C A S T E R M E D I C A L S O C I E T Y. O R G
Healthy Communities
E
pinephrine auto-injectors can help
save lives when administered properly.
Now, thanks to the School Access to
Emergency Epinephrine Act, schools around
Pennsylvania are able to take measures to
further ensure student safety.
Signed into law by former Pennsylvania
Governor Tom Corbett on October 31,
2014, the School Access to Emergency
Epinephrine Act permits schools to store
epinephrine auto-injectors for adminis-
tering to a student in the event that he or
she is suffering anaphylaxis, a potentially
life-threatening allergic reaction. It also
requires designated faculty and staff
members of participating school districts
to complete a training program through
which they learn the proper storing and
administering techniques of epinephrine
auto-injectors. The program also helps
these individuals recognize symptoms of
anaphylaxis (e.g., itching and swelling
of the lips, watery eyes, swelling eyelids,
nausea) in order to treat students as soon
as possible.
Districts around the state are eager to
begin the training process. Lead Nurse Sue
Myers elaborates on Solanco school district’s
plans for its training program: “We are
coordinating the Lancaster County school
nurses with our certified NASN trainer
Lisa Albert to present the ‘Saving Lives’ in
partnership with Lancaster General Health’s
nursing director Claire Mooney and the
Future Nurses Club. Then this fall, we
are going to target as many staff and
faculty members as we possibly can.”
Although students with known allergies
have been permitted to carry and self-ad-
minister their own epinephrine auto-injector
prescriptions for some time, Myers explains
that before the School Access to Emergency
Epinephrine Act was put into place, students
who have undiagnosed allergies and even
students without prescribed epinephrine
auto-injectors were not protected. Now,
however, if a student is suffering an allergic
reaction, a trained faculty or staff member’s
liability is covered when administering an
epinephrine auto-injector to the student.
It also benefits students with known aller-
gies who happen to forget their prescribed
epinephrine auto-injectors or who may be
carrying expired epinephrine auto-injectors.
In addition, Myers endorses the presence
of epinephrine auto-injectors in schools by
stating, “Epinephrine auto-injectors are easy
to use, quick to administer, and low-cost
to maintain adequate supplies through
various programs.”
But who is providing the schools with
epinephrine auto-injectors?
According to allergy specialist Dr. Clark
Kaufman, participating schools can contact
Mylan to receive two two-packs of EpiPen®
Auto-Injectors at no cost as long as those
schools produce written prescriptions.
The EpiPen4Schools® program was
designed by Mylan Specialty to provide
qualifying schools with either the EpiPen®
or EpiPen Jr®, depending on the needs of
individual schools. It is also possible for
A Step to Save Student Lives In Event of Life-Threatening
Allergic Reactions
ROSE BOETTINGER
The School Access To
EMERGENCY EPINEPHRINE AC T

2. L A N C A S T E R 19 PH Y S I C I A N
S P R I N G 2 0 1 5
DISCOVER OUR NO ENTRANCE FEE ADVANTAGE
P R E M I E R P E R S O N A L C A R E
o a k l e a f m a n o r . c o m l i k e u s o n f a c e b o o k !f
UP TO FIVE LEVELS OF
INDIVIDUALIZED CARE
medication & cardiac management
Dialysis & cancer center support
Diabetic monitoring
Wound care
FOR THOSE WHO NEED
MEMORY CARE
f r i e n D s h i p p l a c e
secure alzheimer’s & Dementia care
m i l l e r s v i l l e | 8 7 2 - 9 1 0 0 • l a n D i s v i l l e | 8 9 8 - 4 6 6 3
Emergency Epinephrine Act
schools to obtain one two-pack
of each.
Myers adds that Mylan will also
replaceusedEpiPen®Auto-Injectors.
“A large percentage of accidental
ingestion cases occur in schools...and
it is essential to treat an allergic reaction
early on,” Kaufman says. He explains that
medicine like Benadryl can take nearly half an hour
to begin treating symptoms, whereas relief provided by the EpiPen®
occurs shortly after injected and is much more effective in treating
anaphylaxis.
Making the choice whether to keep epinephrine auto-injectors on
hand in schools can prove to be a life or death decision, as Kaufman
estimates that approximately one in four cases of allergic reactions
can be fatal and that more deaths occur from food allergy reactions
than from allergic reactions to bee stings and insect bites.
Treating a student with an epinephrine auto-injector does not,
however, eliminate the need for the student to receive immediate
professional medical attention. “Epinephrine will work for about
half an hour,” Kaufman explains, “and some children
may have secondary reactions. Taking the child to the
hospital is standard procedure to ensure that the recovery
for the treatment is complete.”
He also explains that parents have nothing to fear
from use of an epinephrine auto-injector: “The medica-
tion in the EpiPen® is a natural chemical the body already
makes itself.” Therefore, there is no harm in administering an
epinephrine auto-injector to a person when he or she is mistaken
for experiencing an allergic reaction.
This act is not an excuse for children with known allergies to
avoid keeping their own epinephrine auto-injectors handy, how-
ever. Myers stresses that these children need to be champions for
themselves by carrying their prescribed personal medications with
them as part of their daily attire.
By allowing the storage and administering of epinephrine
auto-injectors by trained faculty and staff members in public and
private schools, the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act
may just be the next revolutionary step in ensuring the survival of
students not just in Lancaster County but throughout the state of
Pennsylvania as well.