Food Allergy Program for Schools

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis (FAAN) has published a newly revised "School Food Allergy Program". It is now available for purchase. This updated version includes Safe@School®, a CD-Rom, which provides educators with a slide presentation and talking points to train others about food allergies. This comprehensive guide is for schools at every level with information geared toward principals, teachers, school nurses, food service staff, and parents.

Is this something your school could use? Talk to your principal, school nurse or parent teacher organization if you think this would be a valuable resource for your school. At $80 ($75 for FAAN members), you may believe it to be a worthwhile holiday gift for your child's school.

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Update on the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (S. 456)

Check out this article featuring the co-sponsor of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act which will probably be brought to the floors of the Senate and House "after health care reform is settled".

Hmmm...when will that be!?!

Anyway, in a nut-shell (pun intended), here is what the act would do:

(1) Tell parents they need to give the school information about the child’s food allergy.

(2) Individual plans for food allergy management, tailored to the needs of each child, will be created and maintained.

(3) Strategies will be developed between schools and providers of emergency medical services.

(4) Strategies will be developed to reduce the risk of exposure to allergens .in classrooms and common school areas.

(5) Staff, parents, and children will receive general information on life-threatening food allergies

(6) School personnel who regularly come into contact with children with life-threatening food allergies will receive food allergy management training.

(7) School personnel who regularly come into contact with children with life-threatening food allergies will be trained how to administer epinephrine when the nurse is not immediately available.

(8) Food allergic children will have access to epinephrine.
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(9) A plan will be created to address the appropriate response to an incident of anaphylaxis of a child while engaged in extracurricular programs of a school.

(10) When epinephrine is administered, information will be recorded and parents promptly notified.

We really need a law for this? Isn't most of it just plain common sense and the given right for any human being?

So, if passed the bill would provide grants of up to $50,000 to local educational agencies that choose to implement the guidelines in K-12 public schools. It's got bipartisan support in both Houses -- the Senate bill has 28 co-sponsors and the House bill has 44.

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