Kosierowski, Marcell discuss epinephrine auto-injectors in day care centers
Rep. Bridget M. Kosierowski September 24, 2024 | 4:26 PM
HARRISBURG, Sept. 24 – To ensure the health and safety of children, state Reps. Bridget M. Kosierowski and Kristin Marcell held a Capitol news conference Monday to talk about the lifesaving importance of requiring epinephrine auto-injectors in Pennsylvania day care facilities.
“We all know that no one ever wants to face an emergency with a child. As a nurse, I’ve seen this happen and I know full well how important time is during an emergency,” said Kosierowski, a registered nurse for 30 years and mother of four. “We want to assist our child care professionals. They are taking care of our little people when parents are at work and it’s really important to feel like the children are in a safe environment. When you have a toddler or infant, they are not able to express their concerns, their dangers, their allergies.”
Food allergies are the most common cause of anaphylaxis among children. This potentially life-threatening medical condition can occur within seconds to minutes of exposure.
“Our child care providers are always working hard to keep their students safe, and we need to better arm them with the tools to do so, especially when seconds count. While I was lucky to be with my son for his allergic reactions, I still worry about not being there for one of them in the future,” said Marcell, R-Bucks.
“Parents need the peace of mind that when they utilize child care centers, they know the staff is trained and afforded the tools available to assist when allergic reactions happen. This legislation would not only give parents peace of mind, but it would save lives.”
Under current state law, day care facilities are given the option of obtaining epinephrine auto-injectors but are not required to maintain a supply.
Kosierowski and Marcell plan to introduce legislation that would require day care facilities to obtain prescriptions for and maintain a constant supply of epinephrine auto-injectors with available funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
While current state law requires facility employees to receive training, the legislation would further strengthen the law to require training for administering proper weight-based doses of epinephrine as well as require day care facilities to develop informational materials for parents and guardians to better recognize the signs and symptoms of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.
“Infants and toddlers ages 0-4 have a higher rate of food allergy than any other age group. This makes early childhood settings, like preschools and day care centers, a crucial place for emergency preparedness. This legislation is more than just a child care policy — it’s a safety net for all children with food allergies -- known or unknown. By equipping child care centers with the necessary tools and training, we are preventing emergencies from becoming tragedies,” said Jenna Riemenschneider, vice president of advocacy and policy at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Dina Hawthorne, whose son Elijah died at his day care facility after he was fed a grilled cheese sandwich, despite facility staff being aware of his dairy allergy, has turned her heartbreak into advocacy to help prevent other parents from facing the same tragedy.
“No child should die because we place them in an entrusted place where they should be cared for,” said Hawthorne. “In states where Elijah’s Law has been passed, lives are being saved. In New York, Illinois, Virginia, Maryland, and hopefully Pennsylvania too, child care providers are trained to recognize the signs of an allergic reaction, to act quickly and to administer epinephrine, the first line of defense against anaphylaxis. These states have shown that when we take action, we protect lives. When we prepare, we save our children.”