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During an in-service day two weeks ago, Bellwood-Antis High School trained teachers on EpiPens. The teachers were educated about how the EpiPens work, and how to use the life-saving devices.

This is just one of the life-saving devices teachers must be prepared to use in emergencies to save a student’s life.

Someone who is very familiar with EpiPens is school nurse Mrs. Kelly Hoover.  She felt that the training the teachers received was very valuable.

“If I’m not here, or if I am with another student in another emergency and something happens, then one of the teachers can step in and administer the medication that’s required,” she explained.

The school allows students to bring in their own EpiPens into the school as well. However, whether they can carry it with them is a different story.

Mrs. Hoover explained saying, “Students can bring their own EpiPens, and if they can demonstrate to me that they can use it properly, then they can carry it with them.”

She then added, “That is the best practice anyway because if something were to happen, they would have it on them.”

With that being said, EpiPens are not the only thing a student may need. Students that have asthma may also need to use an inhaler if there is an emergency.

A person that has to be prepared for an asthma attack at any time is physical education teacher Mr. Brent Hughes.  If a child has bad asthma, he will keep an inhaler on him, just in case a situation arises.

“I keep the inhalers of the kids with serious asthma that would need the inhaler right away. All of the kids that have inhalers have one at the nurse’s office,” said Hughes.

He also added that with serious cases of asthma he will carry an inhaler on him at all times, just to be safe.

Mrs. Hoover further explained inhalers by saying, “Inhaler students also are allowed to carry the device with them. Once again they have to demonstrate to me that they know how to use it, and if they do use it during school hours they need to come and tell me because I track how many times they use it and find out exactly what caused them to use it.”

In extreme emergencies, it also may be necessary to use a defibrillator. Bellwood-Antis has three automated external defibrillators, also known as AEDs, one for each school in the district.

High school Physical Education teacher Mr. Nick Lovrich, who was among the PE teachers trained on the use of AEDs, reiterated this saying, “It’s pretty simple to use because it has a recorded message that talks you through all of the steps.”

Mr. Lovrich also explained when this device would be necessary to use. “You are actually shocking the person to restart their heart, so  it would be used is when someone does not have a pulse,” he said.

He then explained that some instances that could stop a heartbeat would be a blow to the chest or a pre-existing condition.

Bellwood-Antis’s staff takes medical emergencies very seriously. From inhalers to defibrillators Bellwood is prepared for anything.