On Nov. 17 this bill (S. 1884), the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, was introduced in the Senate.

On Nov. 15, FAAN CEO Maria L. Acebal, joined by Rhonda Adkins, wife of country music superstar and Celebrity Ambassador Who Cares Trace Adkins, and Adkins’s young daughter Brianna, visited lawmakers on Capitol Hill to urge them to support this potentially lifesaving legislation.

In addition to protecting those whose epinephrine auto-injector isn’t immediately accessible during a reaction, this legislation will help save the lives of those who experience an anaphylactic reaction and don’t have a prescribed epinephrine auto-injector. Data shows that up to 25% of all epinephrine administrations that occur in the school setting involve students and adult staffers whose allergy was unknown at the time of the event.

Only a handful of states have laws related to stock epinephrine. S. 1884, however, will provide an incentive for states to enact their own laws allowing school personnel to keep and administer a non-student specific epinephrine auto-injector in case of an emergency. (The state laws would be similar to the ones enacted in Illinois and Georgia in 2011.)

If you would like to support this legislation, please download the sample letter of support, personalize it, and send it to your senators.

You can look up your local senators at www.senate.gov.

You can learn more on the FAAN website here.

How to C.A.R.E.™ for Students with Food Allergies: What Educators Should Know is the result of a collaborative effort among the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI), Anaphylaxis Canada, the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and Leap Learning Technologies.

“This course provides one-stop shopping for a thorough review of managing life-threatening food allergies in the school setting,” said Scott H. Sicherer, M.D., a prominent researcher at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a member of an expert panel that reviewed the program.

Available at www.allergyready.com, How to C.A.R.E.™ for Students with Food Allergies is the first online course about food allergies and anaphylaxis designed specifically for school personnel – administrators, nurses, teachers, and other staff – in the United States. Offering online accessibility and a high level of multimedia and instructional design, the course reaches schools in a way that would not be possible with in-person educational programs. The curriculum is based on FAAN’s Safe@School® program, and provides interactive education for school staff, with an emphasis on the need to create an allergy-smart school environment to help protect students with food allergies. The online course helps educators learn how to C.A.R.E.™: Comprehend the basic facts about food allergies, Avoid the allergen, Recognize the symptoms of a reaction, and Enact emergency protocol.

The course reinforces these facts by testing the user with questions using scenarios depicting allergic reactions at schools. It has been proven effective in research supported by AllerGen NCE Inc. and McMaster University.

“How to C.A.R.E.™ for Students with Food Allergies is an essential tool for school nurses, teachers, and other school staff who take care of our children,” said FAAN CEO Maria Acebal. “The knowledge that they gain from taking this course online could save a student’s life.”

“Food allergy is a significant and growing public health issue, and one for which there is currently no cure,” said Mary Jane Marchisotto, executive director of FAI, which funded the program. “This online course, which is based on the latest research and best practices developed by physicians, educators, and patient advocates across North America, provides school personnel with an easy, comprehensive way to ensure they understand food allergies and are well-prepared.”

The online course was initially introduced to attendees of the annual conference of the National Association of School Nurses in Washington, D.C. in July by Christine Szychlinski, APN, CPNP of Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

FAAN and FAI are working with educators and parents across the country to raise awareness about the new online course. For more information about the course and how to let a local school know this new tool is available, visit www.allergyready.com.

How to C.A.R.E.™ for Students with Food Allergies: What Educators Should Know is the result of a collaborative effort (see Expert Team), and has been proven effective by research that shows that school personnel demonstrate dramatic improvements in knowledge and skills after doing the online course. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) and the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) led the effort to improve food allergy education for teachers across the country.

The online course, which will be offered in both free and subscriber versions in August 2011, will support schools in their efforts to comply with the recent Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (FAAMA).

The course provides interactive education for school staff and emphasizes the need to create an allergy-smart school environment for students with food allergies. It helps educators comprehend the basic facts about food allergy, symptoms of a reaction, and effective treatment for reactions.

The elearning format enables any place, any time, self-paced education over the Internet that can be delivered across the country efficiently and effectively. It uses best practices in graphics, interactivity and multimedia learning, as well as the latest evidence related to food allergy and anaphylaxis management and prevention.

It has been proven effective in research supported by AllerGen NCE Inc. and McMaster University. The course was originally developed by Anaphylaxis Canada, the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and Leap Learning Technologies Inc.

“How to C.A.R.E.™ for Students with Food Allergies is an essential tool for school nurses, teachers, and other school staff, who take care of our children,” said FAAN CEO Maria Acebal. “The knowledge that they gain from taking this course online could save a student’s life.”

“School staff can use the online course with confidence, because it is based on best practices developed by food allergy experts, educators, and patient advocates across America,” said Mary Jane Marchisotto, Executive Director, FAI. “Not only does it provide comprehensive education, but the interactive elements make it engaging and fun to use.”

Related links:
Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN): www.foodallergy.org
Food Allergy Initiative (FAI): www.faiusa.org
Anaphylaxis Canada: www.anaphylaxis.ca
Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: www.csaci.ca
Leap Learning Technologies Inc.: www.leaplearning.ca
AllerGen NCE Inc.: www.allergen-nce.ca
McMaster University: fhs.mcmaster.ca

According to a new national survey, 8 percent of children in the US suffer from a food allergy – many more than expected. The research – funded by FAI and the largest study of its kind – found that 5.9 million children under 18 have a food allergy, and almost 40% of these children have a severe or potentially life-threatening allergy.

“This study confirms what so many families already know: food allergy is a large and growing public health problem,” said Mary Jane Marchisotto, FAI’s executive director. “In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that food allergies affected 1 in 25 children; now it’s 1 in 13. That translates into 2 children in every classroom. It is especially disturbing to see how many of these children have multiple food allergies and have already experienced life-threatening reactions. From previous research, we know that food-allergic reactions send an adult or child to the emergency room every three minutes—every six minutes for potentially fatal reactions. Every day, we hear from families who are struggling with the emotional, physical, and economic impact of food allergies. That’s why FAI is committed to accelerating the pace of clinical trials that will lead to new therapies and, ultimately, a cure.”

A new online course, How to C.A.R.E.™ for Students with Food Allergies, will prepare school personnel how to deal with potentially life threatening food allergy and anaphylaxis emergencies. The course launches in August 2011 on the Allergy Ready website. FAI helped to develop the course with the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). You can learn more about the expert development team here. The course provides interactive education for school staff and emphasizes the need to create an allergy-smart school environment for students with food allergies. The online course helps educators comprehend the basic facts about food allergy, symptoms of a reaction, and effective treatment for reactions.

Learn more about the research study on the FAI website

Learn more about FAI-funded research