PEA Reduces Number of EpiPens Across Campus

Starting this spring term, Exeter will be reducing the number of EpiPen locations on campus, according to Medical Director Katherine Lilly.

EpiPens, or Epinephrine auto-injectors, aid allergic individuals in anaphylaxis, or an allergic emergency. Once administered in the upper thigh, the EpiPen injects epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, which increases cardiac output and raises glucose levels in the blood.

In an all-Academy employee email, Lilly explained that the reduction of EpiPen locations will help us “better align with State legislation requirements and … avoid any potential risks of having medication with hypodermic needles openly accessible on our campus.”

State legislation details that EpiPens should be stored at room temperature. If exposed to extreme heat or cold, temperature could shorten the life of the product and cause the epinephrine to degrade. Due to this regulation and the elimination of temperature gauge windows, campus vehicles will no longer store EpiPens.

However, for some like upper Keaghan Tierney who have severe nut allergies, this challenge in policy does not bode well.

“Last year, I had this teacher, and I explained to her many times that I had an allergy, as I do with all my teachers at the beginning of the term,” Tierney said. “One of the first days, she brought in peanut candy and I couldn’t be in the classroom because that’s how bad the allergy is. The severity of my allergy is, if there are peanuts in a surface and they have been opened, that has the potential to kill me.”

After experiences like this, Tierney is wary of the policy alterations. “Personally, I think that if there is potential exposure to an allergen there should always be an EpiPen nearby,” she said. “It’s a safety and comfort thing.”

Tierney added that she thinks the school’s perception of risk regarding EpiPen needles are not valid. “The school’s justification that they will be abiding by a certain needle policy is kind of a silly excuse because the needles in the EpiPen do not even become exposed until after using the EpiPen,” she said.

Prep Dellara Sheibani, who has used an EpiPen 29 times, agrees that the school’s reasons are somewhat flawed. “There [are] three layers of protection for the EpiPen needle,” Sheibani explained. “First, you have to open up the case and take the pen out, which has warnings on the sides, and then you have to take the blue safety cap off to finally inject. But even after that, you have to apply pressure to even remotely get the EpiPen to inject.”

On the other hand, Lilly cited that there have been instances in which the pens have been misused. “EpiPens need to be replaced when they expire and during replacement times, our staff have sometimes found the pens were ignited and tampered with,” she said.

Senior Evan Vogelbaum, who has several allergies, acknowledges that the school has an obligation to State regulations. “As for removing the locations around campus, I don’t really think they have a choice because the law is the law, but I certainly hope that they’ll find a way to reinstate those because I think that there is a large potential for accidents to happen,” he said.

For Tierney, the gravity of the situation truly comes down to life or death. “The only thing that I think can truly explain the importance of the EpiPen is a ‘what-if situation,’” she said. “0.1 g of peanut has the ability to kill me… If I am not administered the EpiPen right away, I risk death.”

“Until the people of this campus are able to fully grasp the severity of my allergy and other allergies like mine, I don’t think any policies should be changed,” Tierney said.

Lilly maintained that the Health Center’s decision came after considerable analysis,  including medical literature research about best practices for anaphylaxis treatment in school settings, as well as discussions with boarding school physicians and school administrators.