Oct 24, 2014 3 min read

Any school staff member trained to use epinephrine injectors will soon be able to administer the allergy medication to students without prescriptions in the case of a severe reaction.

State Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, lauded the passage of House Bill 803, a compromise version of Senate Bill 898 that he sponsored.

“The essential change was to allow EpiPens in schools rather than have it be a requirement. I still believe it should be a ‘shall’ rather than a ‘may,’ but that compromise allows schools to have these pens in place when a student or faculty member goes into anaphylactic shock,” Smith said.

“The important fact is up to 25 percent of first-time severe allergy cases happen in a school setting. A student is not going to necessarily know what’s going on if they have a reaction. Students often will have to be rushed to the hospital, and in these cases, it’s a matter of minutes to act and keeping someone alive.”

The legislation, allowing trained nonmedical personnel to administer the anti-allergy medication, was modeled after Mt. Lebanon High School’s epinephrine protocol, which has had training and prominent placement of EpiPens for at least eight years.

“We started out with stock EpiPens – both adult and junior versions – in all of our schools. They’re in first aid kits as well as in nurses’ offices. Everyone is trained on how to use them, from custodians and supplemental staff, to teachers and administrators,” chairwoman of health services Deanna Hess said.

“After we received a grant from Mylan, we were able to expand to get a yellow EpiPen box in the lunchroom. It’s also accessible outside in the case of stings or environmental reactions.”

The legislation affects all “public, private and parochial schools,” yet not much will change for many parents and students in the region.

“We’ve had a proactive program in place that goes back about 8 to 10 years, and every year we train the entire staff in the use of the pens,” Peters Township School District spokeswoman Shelly Belcher said. Some other area school districts, including Washington and Trinity, keep EpiPens on hand, but others do not.

Though students can now be administered medication even without a prescription on file with the school, Hess advises parents to get allergies diagnosed as soon as possible.

“I always made sure my daughter had an EpiPen. She’s out of college now, and she still carries it with her.”