East Hampton Village is soon to be the first municipality east of the Shinnecock Canal to arm its police officers not just with guns, but with EpiPens. The plan was first mentioned at the end of September, at the last meeting of the village board.
An EpiPen contains a single dose of epinephrine, colloquially known as adrenaline. It is used in emergencies to treat severe allergic reactions.
The decision was made after a close call last month when a visitor had an anaphylactic reaction after being stung by a bee on Towhee Trail in East Hampton.
“We were out walking,” said Michelle Helier-Foerder, whose mother-in-law, Barbara Russ of Somers, N.Y., was stung. “After she was stung she felt okay, but then went into full anaphylactic shock. She couldn’t speak and was having difficulty breathing.”
East Hampton Town police showed up minutes before an ambulance from Bridgehampton arrived. However, without an available EpiPen, there wasn’t much the officers could do.
“I was a lunatic, running up and down the road asking neighbors if they had EpiPens. I was standing out on the road to meet the police when they arrived because I knew time was of the essence,” Ms. Helier-Foerder said. “I asked the officers if they had an EpiPen and they said no. They had only oxygen.”
When the paramedic arrived, Ms. Russ immediately received a jab with an EpiPen.
“They were incredible. They knew exactly what to do. Within 30 seconds, she was coming around,” said Ms. Helier-Foerder, who also thanked village dispatchers.
“Anaphylactic reaction-related death is extremely rare,” said Erin McGintee, M.D., of ENT and Allergy Associates in Southampton. “But they do happen. There’s an association with being upright and a greater risk of death. Without an EpiPen, laying the victim down can help blood get to the heart and brain. Antihistamine alone is not going to resolve the reaction, but it’s also not going to hurt.”
“I was fearful that she was going to die,” Ms. Helier-Foerder said. “Once the dust settled and she was okay, I just thought, it’s crazy that the police didn’t have an EpiPen. Usually, the police are the first on the scene of an emergency.”
She ran into East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen at Main Beach one day and discussed the incident. They both did some research.
“I found out about Gio’s Law,” Ms. Helier-Foerder said.
Suffolk County began placing EpiPens in its police cars in July, after New York State passed Gio’s Law, named for 14-year-old Giovanni Cipriano, who died from an allergic reaction in 2013. Before that, county police were not allowed to administer the drug.
The mayor, said Ms. Helier-Foerder, “said he was going to look into it, and he did it fast. Fear can make you set out on a mission.”
“This is such a simple idea that could save many lives,” Mr. Larsen said in a text. “Thanks to Michelle, who met with me after her near tragedy, we educated ourselves, and now have this opportunity.”
EpiPens aren’t cheap. According to Village Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson, each dose costs $600. The village will be deploying two sets of medicine, one for children and one for adults, in two police cruisers. Officers are now being trained on their use.
“This will be another lifesaving tool, like Narcan and defibrillators, to help save the lives of our residents and tourists,” said the chief.
“There’s very little downside to giving someone an EpiPen shot,” said Dr. McGintee. “You’re basically giving someone a big bump of adrenaline. In theory, there could be a risk if you’re dealing with an elderly person with heart disease, but the risk is slight. In my practice, if I’m doing a food challenge and a patient starts acting like they could be having a reaction, I don’t wait until it gets bad. The sooner you give the shot, the better the benefit.”
Anaphylactic reaction from a bee bite is rare, she said, but it’s also one of the leading causes of fatality, since people who get stung often don’t know they have the allergy. Food allergies are the most common cause of anaphylaxis, especially with the rise of the Alpha-gal meat allergy, which is transmitted to humans from a tick bite.
“I don’t see any downside to police officers carrying epinephrine,” Dr. McGintee said. “We give EpiPens to laypeople.”
Chief Michael Sarlo of the town force said in an email Tuesday that East Hampton Town is also going to add EpiPens. “We are already in the process of working with the county police coordinator on this program,” the chief said, and he hopes to have them in some police cars by the end of the year.