By Brad Fulton
Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. – Gov. Bob McDonnell signed two bills Thursday requiring schools to stock and administer epinephrine, a drug that could save students having a severe allergic reaction.
McDonnell signed House Bill 1107, sponsored by Delegate Thomas “Tag” Greason, a Republican from Potomac Falls, and Senate Bill 656, introduced by Sen. Donald McEachin, a Democrat from Richmond.
The measures require schools to adopt plans to have epinephrine available for emergencies. Only a school nurse or other trained school employee could administer the drug.
The state budget passed last week allocated $200,000 to public schools to buy epinephrine injectors, commonly called EpiPens.
The legislation was introduced in January after 7-year-old Amarria Johnson, a student at Hopkins Elementary School in Chesterfield County, went into cardiac arrest from a peanut allergy and died.
“This legislation and the money in the recently passed budget will help prevent another tragedy like Amarria Johnson’s from occurring in a public school in the commonwealth,” McDonnell said. “Having a plan in place and access to epinephrine in schools, where children spend half their day, is critical.”
Amarria’s mother, Laura Pendleton, attended the bill signing ceremony. Also present were state legislators, pediatricians and representatives of the Food Allergy Network.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies among school-aged children increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007. Additionally, a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that nearly 25 percent of allergic reactions in schools occur in children who were previously undiagnosed.
State education officials plan to draft guidelines for the possession and administration of epinephrine by July 1. Local school boards must implement their policies beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.
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To celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week (May 6-10, 2024), Clean Air Partners is working with A Few Cool Hardware Stores to exchange DC, Maryland and Virginia residents’ gas-powered lawnmowers, trimmers, and leaf blowers at select Ace Hardware locations in the region. DMV residents who turn in their gas-powered lawn tools will receive a FREE Ego Power+ replacement including batteries and chargers, while supplies last.
Compared to gas, electric lawn equipment can reduce emissions, noise pollution, health risks and maintenance costs and time. The program aims to remove about a hundred gas-powered polluting tools from yards in the greater Baltimore-Washington region.
The exchanges will take place the weekends of May 17-19, 2024, and May 31-June 2, 2024, at A Few Cool Hardware Stores network of employee-owned Ace Hardware stores in the DC and Baltimore metro areas. To participate and get your free Ego Power+ lawn tool, sign up at https://qrco.de/CAPExchange to reserve your tool and select your trade-in date and location.
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Free Irish Music Concert
Welcoming Spring with music from the Emerald Isle, the New Dominion Choraliers offer a FREE concert on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the First United Presbyterian Church of Dale City.
Joined by Legacy Brass and members of Old
Spring Ceili: An Irish Music Festival
The New Dominion Choraliers of Prince William County and McGrath Morgan Academy of Irish Dance invite you to join them at our Ceili, a grand celebration of Irish music and dance.
A gathering of performance groups throughout Prince William County
