Governor signs bill with language requested by OPA
Injection of epinephrine is used for emergency treatment of severe allergic reactions (including anaphylaxis) to insect bites or stings, medicines, foods, or other substances. It is also used to treat anaphylaxis caused by unknown substances or triggered by exercise.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers recently signed legislation into law that will make epinephrine more readily available in Wisconsin by removing statutory language referring to “auto injector or prefilled epinephrine syringes” and instead using the more generic terminology of “epinephrine delivery system.” The new law is 2023 Wisconsin Act 27: https://docs.legis.
Working on behalf of the Wisconsin Association of School Nurses (WASN), O’Meara Public Affairs (OPA) asked for language clarifying that the epinephrine doses be “premeasured.” In reviewing the initial legislation, WASN’s Legislative Committee had noted that excessive doses of epinephrine can be dangerous.
Jack O’Meara reached out to the bill’s authors and delivered testimony to legislative committees in both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature. The bill’s authors agreed to the change, and the amendment adding the “premeasured” language was adopted when the committees went into executive session.