PRINTER'S NO. 3024
No. 2328 Session of 1982
INTRODUCED BY ARMSTRONG AND JACKSON, MARCH 3, 1982
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND WELFARE, MARCH 3, 1982
AN ACT
1 Relating to administration of epinephrine by certified lay
2 persons in certain circumstances.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Insect Sting
7 Emergency Treatment Act."
8 Section 2. Purpose.
9 It is the purpose of this act to provide a means of
10 authorizing certain individuals when a physician is not
11 immediately available to administer life-saving treatment to
12 those persons who have severe adverse reactions to insect
13 stings.
14 Section 3. Administration of this act.
15 The Department of Health is hereby authorized to perform the
16 following functions and duties:
17 (1) To promulgate rules necessary for the administration
1 of this act.
2 (2) To conduct educational training programs as
3 described in section 4, and to approve such programs
4 conducted by other governmental agencies or private entities.
5 (3) To issue and to renew certificates of training to
6 those persons who have complied with this act and the rules
7 promulgated hereunder.
8 (4) To collect fees necessary for the administration of
9 this act.
10 Section 4. Educational training programs.
11 Educational training programs required by this act shall be
12 conducted by a physician licensed to practice medicine in this
13 Commonwealth. The curriculum shall minimally include the
14 following subjects:
15 (1) Recognition of the symptons of systemic reactions to
16 insect stings.
17 (2) The proper administration of a subcutaneous
18 injection of epinephrine.
19 Section 5. Eligibility for certificate.
20 Persons eligible to receive a certificate pursuant to this
21 act shall meet the following requirements:
22 (1) Be 18 years of age or older.
23 (2) Have, or reasonably expect to have, responsibility
24 for at least one other person as a result of one's
25 occupational or volunteer status, such as camp counsellors,
26 scout leaders, school teachers, forest rangers, tour guides,
27 or chaperones.
28 (3) Have successfully completed an educational training
29 program as described in section 4.
30 Section 6. Applications for certificates.
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1 Persons meeting the requirements of section 5 shall be
2 entitled to a certificate pursuant to this act.
3 Section 7. Authority of certificate.
4 Notwithstanding any other law, a certificate issued pursuant
5 to this act shall authorize the holder thereof to receive, upon
6 presentment of said certificate, from any physician licensed in
7 this Commonwealth or from the Department of Health, a
8 prescription for premeasured doses of epinephrine and the
9 necessary paraphernalia for administration. The certificate
10 shall also authorize the holder thereof to possess and
11 administer in an emergency situation when a physician is not
12 immediately available, such prescribed epinephrine to persons
13 suffering a severe adverse reaction to an insect sting.
14 Section 8. Immunity.
15 No cause of action shall arise against a certificate holder
16 authorized by this act, for any act or omission of such
17 certificate holder when acting in good faith while rendering
18 emergency treatment pursuant to the authority granted by this
19 act, except where such conduct amounts to gross negligence.
20 Section 9. Effective date.
21 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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