Law allows ailing children to keep drugs at schoo
(I would think the following would apply to DMers, too)
(7/7/01)
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) — School nurses are praising a new state law that
allows certain students to carry and administer their own medications.
The law, which took effect July 1, will allow students with conditions such as
asthma or severe allergies to apply treatment immediately, nurses say.
Asthmatics can keep their inhalers close by, and students that react severely
to bee stings, peanuts and other allergens can carry an Epi Pen — a syringe
filled with one dose of epinephrine.
The drug cabinets in some school offices often are filled with these medicines
and other prescriptions that usually require distribution by the nurses.
Joy Sunday, health service coordinator for Valparaiso Community Schools, said
the law will assure that students with serious conditions receive quick
treatment.
"If a child needs medication within seconds, it’s already taken care of in the
classroom," she said.
Concerns about drug abuse among students had prompted many Indiana schools to
tightly restrict students’ access to their medications.
"Schools have overreacted on the no tolerance of drugs on school grounds,"
said state Sen. Tom Wyss. "This is a thing that deals with life-and-death
situations. I think it really needed to be addressed."
Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, was one of three legislators who pushed for the law. He
cited several critical medical situations, including the death of a girl who
could not get to her inhaler in time.
The law requires school districts to allow students with an acute or chronic
disease or medical condition to possess medication with them and
self-administer it on school grounds and during any school-related function.
Students must have a written release from a parent and a doctor that
authorizes the activity.
Another part of the law prohibits schools from sending medication home with a
student, except for drugs self-administered by the student. Parents must be
responsible for dropping off and picking up all other prescriptions.
Many districts already let the students with serious conditions carry
medication with them, assessing their medical conditions on a case-by-case
basis.
At Portage Township Schools, students must provide documentation to show the
child knows how to self-administer the medicine correctly, said Jan Wilson,
head school nurse for Portage schools.
"We need to start teaching them as young as we possibly can to encourage
self-care for anyone who has a chronic health condition," said Wilson.
"Sometimes when they’re really little, it takes time for them to learn the
aspects of how to handle that correctly."