On April 30, 2013, Kids With Food Allergies Foundation (KFA) hosted a free webinar in partnership with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) with guest speakers Charlotte Collins, JD, and Michael Pistiner, MD, MMSc. We thank them for their expertise and for sharing valuable information with our community on the topic of school and state policies for stocking epinephrine in schools for allergic emergencies.

Here is the video archive for you to watch at your convenience and share with others. Below the video is a list of the resources mentioned in the video.

AAFA.org/epinephrine: Find out if your state is considering legislation to allow schools to stock undesignated epinephrine.  AAFA provides a template letter, bill updates, and information on how to contact your legislator to encourage the passing of your state's bill.

AAFA.org/advocacy: Contact AAFA for information specific to your state or for advocacy assistance.

Sign up for AAFA's advocacy mailing list.

AllergyHome.org/schools: Online modules provide free training for school staff on how to manage food allergies in school.

AllergyHome's School Education Chart: Food allergy education tailored to specific groups in schools
 
KFA Support Forums: KFA provides support forums for parents to connect on topics of advocacy, school issues and more. (Registration is free.)

AAFA's State Honor Roll: Where does your state stand? AAFA publishes an annual report to identify states with the most comprehensive and preferred statewide public policies supporting people with asthma, food allergies, anaphylaxis risk and related allergic diseases in U.S. elementary, middle and high schools.  The 2013 report will be out soon.

Managing Food Allergies in Schools: KFA's previous webinars on the topic of food allergies in schools provide additional information on food allergy basics, school policies, best practices and more.

Massachusetts Data on Epinephrine Administration in Schools (PDF)

Learn what epinephrine auto-injectors are currently available in the United States. Includes information about savings plans and training videos.

Our Guest Speakers:

Charlotte W. Collins, JD is Vice President of Policy and Programs for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). Before joining AAFA, she was an Associate Professor in the George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services, teaching graduate courses in public health, law, policy and management. Ms. Collins received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, and was former counsel in the health care policy practice in the Washington DC office of a national law firm.  For over a decade, she worked with advocates to expand health coverage for the uninsured in the State of Tennessee, acted as general counsel, and ran government relations for a safety net hospital system in Memphis.

Collins directs AAFA’s state advocacy promoting access to epinephrine at schools.  Currently, she authors AAFA's annual State Honor Roll of Asthma and Allergy Policies for Schools, serves on the Coordinating Committee of the National Institutes of Health’s National Asthma Education and Prevention Program and the Public Policy Committee of the American Thoracic Society. In 1995, she won the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. In April 2006, Modern Healthcare magazine named her as one of the nation’s Top 25 Minority Healthcare Executives.

Michael Pistiner, MD, MMSc is a pediatric allergist, and chair of KFA's medical advisory team. He is the father of a child with food allergies and serves as a voluntary consultant for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, School Health Services.

Dr. Pistiner is a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics where he is a member of the Council of School Health and the Section of Allergy & Immunology, and is a member of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology where he is a member of the Adverse Reaction to Food Committee. He is chair of the Medical Advisory Team for Kids with Food Allergies Foundation, and serves on the board of Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America, New England Chapter. Dr. Pistiner is the author of Everyday Cool with Food Allergies, a children's book designed to teach basic food allergy management skills to preschool and early school age children, and is co-creator of AllergyHome.org, a website that provides free modules designed to increase food allergy awareness in the community.

YOU MAKE OUR WEBINARS POSSIBLE!

The generous support of our donors allows us to reach families who need our help. A webinar attendee recently told us: "The webinar was very well put together and very professional. I appreciate that information such as this is "out there" and given to the public free of charge. It is also nice to know that "allergy parents" are not alone...there are many, many of us out there!"

You can help ensure our webinar series continues to be accessible to all families free of charge. You enable us to give families the information they need and assure them that they are not alone in their journey. Please give generously!

Updated: February 2017