N.Y. Town`s Fire Crews Using Epinephrine Syringes Instead of EpiPens

Aug. 31--WATERTOWN -- Watertown Fire Department emergency crews are getting a financial shot in the arm by swapping those expensive EpiPens for syringes when they go on medical calls.

Instead of paying about $600 for EpiPen auto injectors, the city fire department's heavy rescue squad and a handful of others in Jefferson County have switched to using syringes for the life-saving allergy treatment. The syringes cost about $100.

Battalion Chief James R. Holland of the city's Massey Street fire station said the city fire department started using the syringes late last year through the Check and Inject pilot program with the state Department of Health.

"With the cost going up, you really have to look at ways to save some money," he said. The Watertown Fire Department purchased 12 syringe kits, which includes the same medicine that the EpiPens employ, at savings of about $5,300. The South Jefferson Rescue Squad and the Lorraine Fire Department also are using the syringes.

The high cost of EpiPens have sparked criticism across the country from parents buying the medical devices for their children with allergies, causing calls for Congress to look into the issue.

Over the past seven years, EpiPens have gradually increased to their $600 pricetag. After the criticism reached a crescendo last week, Mylan, manufacturer of EpiPen, bowed to pressure and lowered the price for its generic version of the device, although criticism has continued for the company.

Syringes work a little differently than EpiPens, which are stuck in a patient's leg and the medicine stops the allergic reaction. EMT squads first remove the right amount of medicine from a vial, draw it up in the syringe and apply it just like a shot.

Firefighters were trained in March before the city heavy rescue squad began using the syringes.

Debra Singleton, executive director of the South Jefferson Rescue Squad, heard about the Check and Inject program through her role as the chairwoman of the Regional Emergency Medical Committee after becoming aware of it from the state Emergency Management Services.

The South Jeff squad bought enough for its three ambulances, saving the organization about $2,000. As with the EpiPens, two are needed to be administered on a patient, she said.

Copyright 2016 - Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.