Pennsylvania Lawmakers Push To Make School Safer For Children With Food Allergies

By Isaac Fletcher, contributing writer, Food Online

Following The School Access To Emergency Epinephrine Act, the State Senate is giving momentum to a bill that would reduce the risk of anaphylaxis-related mortalities in schools

Pennsylvania’s State Senate Education Committee successfully reported the Moving Epinephrine in Schools Bill, HB 803, last week. The bill would allow schools to stock epinephrine, the life-saving injectable medicine used to treat severe anaphylaxis. Additionally, under the bill, schools would be allowed to train school employees to administer the injection.

Up to 15 million Americans, a large number of which are children, have a food allergy that could put them at risk for anaphylaxis. Roughly eight percent, or one in 12 children, have a food allergy — an increase of 18 percent between 1997 and 2007. With nearly 213,000 children in Pennsylvania with a severe, life-threatening food allergy, access to epinephrine and the proper knowledge of its administration may help put many parents at ease. Changes to public policy regarding access to epinephrine treatment, like those outlined in this legislation, will lower the risks of anaphylaxis-related mortality among school children.

The bill in Pennsylvania follows the signing into law of The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act by President Obama in November, which urges schools to purchase and store injectable epinephrine for use in anaphylactic emergencies. The School Access To Emergency Epinephrine Act has served one of its primary purposes by acting as a catalyst for states to recognize the need to require schools to stock epinephrine and provide school personnel training in its administration.

Lynda Mitchell, VP of Kids With Food Allergies (KFA), a division of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), states, “This bill is absolutely critical to keeping our children safe at school.” Underscoring the potential impact of the bill, she continues, “By limiting liability and providing the opportunity to ensure epinephrine auto-injectors (EAIs) are available in schools and are able to be administered by lay persons, the Senate action is helping to lower the risk of potentially fatal circumstances.”

Mitchell urges the Senate to keep the momentum behind the bill moving forward to ensure its passage, noting, “The increasing prevalence of allergies and anaphylaxis among children should compel state policymakers to ensure that this bill is passed as soon as possible by the Senate and signed into law.” Nearly every state in the U.S. has put into place some sort of epinephrine stocking law or has currently pending legislation on the matter, making it very likely that Pennsylvania’s bill will become law.