The urgency behind the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act (S. 1884/H.R. 3627) is heartbreakingly illustrated by Pendleton’s loss. Her 7-year-old daughter Amarria died earlier this year after eating a peanut at the Chesterfield, Va. school where she was enrolled in first grade. She did not have an epinephrine auto-injector at school.
“My heart is still broken. I’m still grieving,” Pendleton said. “But I want to do whatever I can to ensure that kids like Amarria have access to medicine that could save them and that school staff are educated and can identify the signs of an allergic reaction.”
This proposed legislation encourages states to ensure that epinephrine is readily accessible in schools for the treatment of potentially fatal anaphylactic reactions. Virginia’s stock epinephrine law, known as “Amarria’s Law,” was signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell last month.
“Amaria’s story leaves no doubt that this legislation will save a life by ensuring that the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis is readily available,” said FAAN executive Maria Acebal. “No child should die in school from a mistaken bite of food. No child should die in school because the epinephrine in the nurse’s office was prescribed to someone else.”
U.S. Representatives Phil Roe, M.D., (R-TN) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who introduced the legislation last fall in the House, hosted a Congressional briefing in the Cannon House Office Building today to discuss the legislation.
“Passage of the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act is so important because it could save a life. A systemic allergic reaction is fatal and can kill within minutes. To prevent a fatal outcome, we need to make epinephrine pens available in our schools for sudden emergencies,” Roe said. “You can never be too careful when it comes to saving a life of a child. I want to thank FAAN for their hard work in bringing awareness to this important cause."
"Ensuring that students have access to potentially life-saving epinephrine in the event of an allergic reaction is not just good public policy -- it is simple common sense,” Hoyer said. “I am pleased to partner with Rep. Roe to offer the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act so that no parent has to worry about life-threatening allergic reactions when they send their children off to school in the morning."
The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL). It has more than 25 co-sponsors in the Senate and 50 co-sponsors in the House.
Brian Hom, whose 18-year-old son BJ died in July 2008 of a fatal food allergy reaction, also spoke out in support of the bill. Hom has dedicated himself to raising awareness about food allergies, speaking publicly about his son’s death and chairing FAAN’s BJ Hom Memorial Walk/Run in Bay Area, Calif.
Other speakers at the briefing included Hemant Sharma, M.D., director of the Food Allergy Program at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC; Deborah Zeller, President of the Virginia Association of School Nurses; and Kenton Duty, age 17, one of the stars of Disney’s television show “Shake It Up.” Kenton, who has a food allergy and is one of FAAN’s Celebrity Ambassadors Who Care, is committed to raising awareness about food allergies among kids and teens.
This week marks the 15th Annual Food Allergy Awareness Week, created to raise awareness and educate others about food allergy, which affects nearly 15 million Americans including 1 in 13 children.
