To Save A Life: Some Lacey Officers Receive Training In Use Of EpiPen

Some Lacey Township police officers will now have another weapon in their arsenal to combat severe allergic reactions, Police Chief David A. Paprota said.

Seventeen patrol officers in the department are certified EMTs. They are being trained to administer the life-saving EpiPen® Auto-Injector to anyone suffering anaphylactic shock, the chief said.

"Police officers most commonly arrive at medical emergency scenes well ahead of both basic and advanced emergency medical personnel, so the availability of an EpiPen auto-injector at the scene of a victim experiencing anaphylactic shock due to an allergic reaction will prove very beneficial," Paprota said.

The EpiPen® Auto-Injector is a disposable, pre-filled automatic injection device that administers epinephrine in the event of a severe allergic reaction.

An EpiPen® contains epinephrine, a medication that can help decrease a body’s allergic reaction by relaxing the muscles in a victim's airway to make breathing easier, helping to reverse the rapid and dangerous decrease in blood pressure, and relaxing the muscles in the stomach, intestines, and bladder, according to the manufacturer.

The Lacey Township Police Department's program is overseen by Dr. Laurence R. DesRochers of the Urgent Cr Now center at 239 North Main Street in Lanoka Harbor.

Officer Daniel Ricciardella - who has eight years of experience as an EMT - has been assigned as the program coordinator, the chief said.

Photo credits: epipen.com, Lacey Township police department.