ERIE COUNTY — Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth has been advocating for law enforcement to have access to Epinephrine Auto Injectors, also known as EpiPens, to help people who are having life-threatening allergic emergencies.
“We patrol the rural area of the county and many times we have a deputy that might get to the scene first, and it might be several minutes before an ambulance gets there. Some of the folks can be in serious distress and in-need of urgent medical treatment,” said Sigsworth.
Sigsworth said originally, law enforcement wasn't legally allowed to carry EpiPens, and the sheriff wanted to change that. So, he started with a call to Ohio State Senator Teresa Gavarone.
"I explained the problem to her, and much to my surprise, I learned she has a child that has a severe allergy, and she was immediately on board,” said Sigsworth.
Gavarone has had to carry an EpiPen since her daughter was 4 years old, and was surprised to learn that law enforcement in Ohio couldn't.
“I was in shock when seconds can mean the difference between life and death, so I said I’ve got just the bill for that,” said Gavarone.
With support from other lawmakers, the bill passed, and on April 9, the Erie County Sheriff’s department received its first set of EpiPen kits from University Hospitals in Cleveland.
"Anaphylactic shock is way worse than just an allergic reaction, and I always tell our paramedics during training the ones who die, die instantly within minutes,” said EMS Director Dr. Donald Spaner.
Sheriff Sigsworth said it's very common for deputies to receive a call that someone is having a severe allergic reaction and cannot breathe.
Recently, they helped a man who was caught in a hornet's nest.
“He was having great difficulty breathing, and he was able to communicate that to the deputy. When he pulled up, they called for a squad and there was an ambulance station nearby, but that ambulance was already out on a call, so they had to call for a mutual aid ambulance, and it was several minutes for that ambulance to get there. The deputy did what he could for the poor guy, but there's not much you can do unless you've got the proper tools,” said Sigsworth.
But now, deputies will have the proper tools to help save a life during the most critical moments.
“The police are here frequently before anyone so having this opportunity and having these tools I really believe is going to save numerous lives,” said Spaner.
