D.C. Residents Call for EpiPen Training for all EMS Crews
We have learned that some first responders, the first people that get to you in an emergency, are not able to administer a commonly available medicine. And this has some people calling for legislation to get these firefighters and ambulance crews trained ... and trained fast.
Sam Gilman, 13, can describe anaphylaxis in chilling detail.
"Your body is basically suffocating itself," he said.
Sam had a severe allergic reaction to a peanut butter cookie. DC fire fighters and an ambulance crew were on the scene within minutes.
"The first responders were there. They were authorized to use an EpiPen," he said.
Everything went well for Sam that day, because the first responders were trained in recognizing anaphylaxis; and trained to use a device called an EpiPen to administer the life saving drug epinephrine.
"Had the paramedics and the fire fighters not been trained, then I would have died," Sam said.
But 9 News has learned that not all of DC's first responders have EpiPens available to them nor are they trained in how to use them. A device even 13-year-old Sam Gilman knows how to use.
"It's very simple. You take off the cap. You form your hand into a fist. You jab it into your thigh."
Right now there are just over 1,600 certified EMS providers in the city. About 465 of them have advanced training and can administer epinephrine. Not good enough says Sam's father.
"What we really need is for all ambulances, all fire trucks with EpiPens on it. And anybody on that truck authorized and trained, in less than a minute, to administer Epinephrine," said Sam's father, Andy Gilman.
"This is not just about using the technology. This is about recognizing the sickness. Recognizing when you have to use the EpiPen. And that takes a lot of time," said DC fire and rescue spokesman Alan Etter.
Etter says EpiPen training was added four years ago to the emt course, but as of today the department still does not have enough people trained to put EpiPens on first responder fire trucks and ambulances. Only on paramedic units; and often these units can't get to you in the first minutes or aren't available.
"We are doing the best we can with what we have," Etter said. "So our challenge is to get to that level and we will get there. It's going to take some time because we need to identify funding sources."
DC Council Member Jim Graham has introduced legislation that would require all basic emt's be trained to administer the EpiPen.
"We also checked with neighboring jurisdictions and we found it was all in place. Why was DC the sore thumb that stuck out in not doing this," he said.
As in DC, all firefighters in Maryland and Virginia are EMTs. But unlike DC, the surrounding jurisdictions train all firefighters and ambulance crews to recognize anaphylaxis and they carry pens with them. Sam's father wants DC to be on the same playing field as the suburbs. And he says he's willing to do his part, even if he has to train them all himself.
DC Fire and Ems tell us more of their rank and file will soon be joining those who are trained in using the EpiPen. They have 290 people who have been trained and are now waiting to be certified by the city's medical director.
