Making EpiPens Publicly Available for Allergic Reactions

I recently learned that our school district now has stock Epipens in all buildings. The rationale for this was in the event of a sheltering-in situation, additional emergency medications for food and insect allergic reactions may need to be available. I am unclear what happens when these medications expire. Where is the funding for extra Epipens going to come from, and who is keeping track of expiration dates?

Our school buildings already have defibrillators. "A Dangerous Allergy to Change", by Gillian Tett in FT magazine talks about the Good Samaritan Law leading to installation of defibrillators and questions why Epipens are not treated in the same manner.

The Virginia senate has sent an Epipen bill to the governor for signature following the death of an elementary student allergic to peanuts. Are we heading to nationwide availability of stock epinephrine in our schools, parks and other public places? It certainly makes sense from a health perspective, but I understand the concerns when it comes to cost and tracking of expired meds.

Does your school stock epinephrine? Would you be more apt to travel to places, say Disney, if you knew there was epinephrine readily available in the event of an anaphylactic emergency?

Use Expired Epi-Pens®

Show Grandma, new classroom teacher, soccer coach, or scout leader how to use an Epi-Pen®. Use those expired pens and demonstrate (or better yet, let someone else try) how to discharge the unit in a lemon, orange or grapefruit. After carefully inserting the Epi-Pen®- needle end first- into it's storage tube, drop it off at your allergist's or family doctor's office for proper disposal.

Do a little gratitude dance that the Epi-Pen® didn't have to be used to treat an allergic reaction and pat yourself on the back for teaching someone else to use it.