On January 25, members of the Board of Education of Westerville's City School District approved a pilot program to put EpiPens in schools.
The Pens will allow school officials to deal with allergic reactions, which can be life-threatening, by stockpiling EpiPens, the short name for epinephrine auto-injectors.
Director of Human Resources, Debbie Meissner, said the new measure will allow the district to check with a doctor who is authorized to prescribe the Pens, so building administrators will be able to stockpile at least two of them in case of an emergency. Meissner said the district would like to begin the pilot program during the 2016-2017 school year, then reevaluate it annually.
Meissner added that the Pens are being paid for by a grant from Epi4schools, so the pilot program would not cost the district anything. Pens cost approximately $350 to $400 for a pack of two. She also noted that the Pens can be stored in the schools for one year only, since that is the shelf life of the medication.
The new policy mandates that each school should develop guidelines determining where EpiPens would be stored, who can use them, how they would be discarded, and what the replacement process would be.
School district officials might consider working with a postcard printing company to create a mailer for parents, explaining the program.Get a Free Quote for Pens
