WEMS Protocols & EpiPens

[Guest guest]

Hello,

 

Re:   Departmental Protocols for WEMS in the Outdoors Workplace (Environmental

Studies Operations) and the Authority to Carry and Administer Epinephrine (via

the EpiPen® auto-injector)

 

I am an archaeologist with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. I

have been granted permission to draft Field Emergency Response and Medical

Protocols for our department's environmental field staff.   One aspect of these

protocols that I have been researching is the medical authority (and legal

authority) for our field staff to carry (and administer if indicated) EpiPens®

in our field first-aid kits.   I already have a NC-licensed physician (my GP)

willing to extend his medical authority and scrip the pens to us.   However,

our department's attorneys are predictably concerned about the legal liability

of such an endeavor (EpiPen® use), and desire at least to know of

organizational precedence.

 

I'd like to ask if you are aware of any departments, agencies, or organizations

(outdoor rec, Park Service, etc.), aside from standard governmental EMS

departments, that have implemented the carrying of EpiPens®?   Or perhaps

where I might turn for seeking precedence?   The only first-aid training our

field staff are currently required to take is the standard ARC Basic First Aid.

  While I am hoping to be able to offer a 16+ hour Wilderness First Aid

training course with an EpiPen® training component (by the Wilderness Safety

Council) to our field staff, it's unlikely this course would be mandated for our

staff, let alone EMT or Paramedic training (which would otherwise satisfy the

attorneys).

Thank you for your time and consideration,

-Jess

D. Zinn

Archaeologist

Human Environment Unit

Project Development and Environmental Analysis North Carolina Department of

Transporation