WINTER PARK, Fla. – A local mom is out with a warning about children with allergies. She says her son could not access his lifesaving EpiPen while in after-care at school.
Sherry Isler assumed that since her son’s Winter Park school was notified that he has severe allergies, the after-care program at school would also be aware and could administer his EpiPen if needed. Turns out, that’s not always the case.
Her son, 6-year-old Lincoln Isler, often practices how to use an EpiPen. The first grader has life-threatening food allergies and could experience anaphylaxis if he ingests dairy, peas, chickpeas or lentils.
“My throat starts closing up and I need help with my EpiPen even though I can do it myself,” said Lincoln Isler.
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When Lincoln started kindergarten at Aloma Elementary School, his mom says she filled out all the required paperwork so staff would know about his condition and his life-saving medication.
“And then on the first day of school, in the morning, I went to drop him off and I asked the caregiver there from the before and after school care program, ‘who would be responsible, like what do they need to know?’ She just looked at me and she said, ‘we don’t give EpiPens here. We don’t have any training,’” Sherry Isler said.
Isler says she was terrified. She then found out that Orange County Public Schools outsourced most before-and-after school programs to third-party vendors and the training requirements varied from school to school.
“Kids are eating breakfast there as well as after-school snacks and if nobody’s trained on recognizing signs of an allergic reaction for him and giving him his EpiPen if needed, then he’s just not safe,” said Isler.
OCPS tells News 6 that as of September of 2023 they now require that training in all before and after school programs, but Isler wants to get results statewide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 14 states require some sort of anaphylaxis training for school staff. Florida is not one of them.
State Senator Linda Stewart is now sponsoring the Anaphylaxis in Public Schools bill.
It would require each district to adopt an anaphylaxis policy, and train appropriate school personnel and at least 50% of staff in before and after care programs.
“When you start investigating it, you realize that we’re kind of behind, said Stewart. “I don’t think it would be that difficult (to pass). I don’t see it as a partisan issue, because it’s a safety issue for our children.”
Delaying or failure to use an EpiPen can have deadly consequences. Both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend anaphylaxis and EpiPen training for school staff which could help millions of children.
We checked with other districts in Central Florida. Osceola, Sumter, Marion, Seminole, Brevard and Lake counties say they use trained district staff for before and after school programs. Volusia and Flagler Counties use trained district staff and some third-party vendors.
Isler says witnessing her own son in distress at home highlights the need for trained staff in all schools.
“Thankfully, he’s old enough now where he said, ‘Mom, my throat feels tight.’ And that just threw me for a loop because I was like, ‘What in the world?’” said Isler. “He was never able to tell me that before and just the look in his eyes, it was so scary. I had to give him his EpiPen, and he was scared of it, because it’s a needle. So here he is, he’s in distress and he knows how to give his EpiPen. I’ve trained him on it. He knew how to do it, but he was scared too, because of the needle. And thank God I was there because if I wasn’t, he wouldn’t have done it himself.”
Isler, who’s also a nurse practitioner, says the training for anaphylaxis and EpiPens is available for free from food allergy organizations and only takes minutes to complete. Also, she says if someone receives an EpiPen and is not actually having an allergic reaction, it is harmless. She says Epinephrin is an enzyme that occurs naturally in your body but delaying it during anaphylaxis can be deadly.
Here are some of the responses News 6 received from Central Florida districts:
SUMTER
“Our aftercare program is managed by the district using district employees. Staff are trained by an RN to administer EpiPens and inhalers based on individual student needs.”
LAKE
“We staff our ELC (Extended Learning Centers) with district employees. All contractual staff are trained annually by our District Health Providers to administer EpiPens and inhalers. Additional training is provided by District Health Providers to individuals who work with students that have specific care plans. All staff are required to maintain current CPR/FA and AED Certification.”
VOLUSIA
“Extended Day Enrichment Programs, which include before and after school programs, are provided for 50 schools inside VCS through our EDEP department. There are also a few schools that have a private vendor that rents the facility. All EDEP employees are district employees. Members of each EDEP team are certified in CPR/First Aid and we are trained on both the EpiPen and Inhaler.”
ORANGE
“Due to the pending expiration of the district’s existing contracts for services, a Request for Proposal and Contractor Acknowledgment request was posted to all of our third-party vendors and those interested in competing to provide before and after school services, at the beginning of September 2023. The RFP included the following: ‘Please include how the Contractor will ensure that there will be at least two (2) staff members trained in Anaphylactic/EPI Pen and First Aid on campus at all times when the program is in session.’ In addition, the scope of work section of current third-party work authorizations was updated to include ‘ensure that two staff members be trained in first aid and anaphylactic/epi pen procedures.’
“The district is dedicated to providing medical support to all of our students while on all of our campuses. In addition to the school nurse, two (2) staff members at each school are trained to assist students with medical conditions requiring the use of an EPI Pen. Training includes the general overview of anaphylaxis and how to identify a student that is in need of medical intervention. While it is vital to provide a quick response, staff also contacts 911 in order to have first responders arrive on location quickly.”
SEMINOLE
Seminole County Public Schools provides before and after care services through our KidZone & Beyond / KZone program. We utilize SCPS employees as well as agency employees to provide these services. In accordance with the Florida Nurse Practice Act and state statute, KidZone & Beyond/KZone staff receive appropriate training from a licensed registered nurse, if a student requires life-saving medication to be available while participating in the program. Before any medication may be administered, parents provide the district with a valid written medication authorization form that is filled out and completed by the child’s physician. This document is kept on file and reviewed by the school board nurse.
“Once appropriate documentation is received, the school board nurses provide student-specific training to the appropriate school staff in accordance with the physician’s authorization form on an annual basis. KidZone & Beyond/KZone staff who have responsibilities for specialized services such as administering an inhaler or epi-pen are provided training specific to the procedures disclosed on the appropriate authorization form annually.”
MARION
“We have our own employees for before- and after-school programs called MAP (Marion Afterschool Programs). Site managers are trained and certified to administer EpiPens®, inhalers, and other potentially life-saving devices as needed.”
OSCEOLA
“We provide before and after care ourselves and they are school district employees. Extended Day staff were trained during preplanning by one of the District nurses on EpiPen administration. When we are notified by a parent that a student has an EpiPen, our bookkeeper purchases a lock box to be kept in the Extended Day area for the placement of the EpiPen and the parent completes the necessary documentation for administration at school. Staff are trained to administer medication. This training also took place during preplanning. If we are notified that a child has an inhaler, we work with the school nurse on usage and administration. Staff members are first aid/CPR trained. New hires have 90 days to obtain their certification. To assist staff members, we provided a training that staff were able to attend.”
FLAGLER
“Flagler Schools/FTC Extended Day - All staff are District Employees: 1 Site Manager / site-Activity Leaders-2 Homework Teachers/site. Boys & Girls Club of Flagler/Volusia County - all employed by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia/Flagler Counties.
“Flagler Schools/FTC Extended Day - Site Managers are certified and trained in CPR / EpiPens / Insulin / Seizures. Activity Leaders (Bulk of Extended Day Staff) are 90% CPR & First Aid Trained (recertified every 2 years). Boys & Girls Club of Flagler/Volusia County - Boys & Girls Club Staff members are CPR certified.”
BREVARD
Brevard Public Schools said they have before and after care at their schools and the care providers are all district employees.
“They can administer EpiPens and other life saving devices once they have completed the administering medication training,” a spokesperson with Brevard Public Schools said.
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