Community Outreach: SLCH Develops Signature Food Allergy Program for Use in Schools
St. Louis Children’s Hospital (SLCH) is taking a leading role in developing a signature food allergy program for use in schools throughout the St. Louis community. The ultimate goal of the Food Allergy Management and Education (FAME) program is to serve as a nationwide best practice to combat life-threatening food allergies.
“As physicians at Children’s Hospital and in the community know, food allergies among children are on the rise. This presents an opportunity for SLCH to help schools in developing procedures to protect these child and respond appropriately when allergic reactions occur,” says Kathleen McDarby, clinical nurse specialist in SLCH’s Advocacy and Outreach department and FAME project manager. “We felt the relationships we’ve developed with school nurses and administrators through community-based programs such as the Healthy Kids Express Asthma Program gave us a good foundation for this new program.”
FAME’s major components include:
- Assisting schools throughout the community in obtaining EpiPens.
- Developing a Food Allergy Manual and Tool-kit for use by schools
- Conducting food allergy in-services for school nurses and teachers
- Providing educational materials/presentations to families and children
- Piloting the SLCH Food Allergy Signature Program in five local schools
“The basis for the FAME program came from a donation by an SLCH board member, whose grandchild has life-threatening food allergies. When family members began looking at schools in which to enroll the child, they found there were not a lot of policies in place to help manage children with food allergies in the school setting,” says Lisa Glover-Jones, FAME community health educator. “That donation helped us begin development of the manual and tool-kit, which we are currently distributing to schools.”
An important element of the manual is the Food Allergy Action Plan. Completed by the child’s pediatrician, the form provides schools with directions to be taken for individual students with allergies, what their reactions to the allergens may be, and what treatment should be given.
“This information is vital for schools to have on hand for every student with life-threatening food allergies,” says Glover-Jones.
Additional funding was received from Dey Pharmaceuticals, LP, to expand FAME to include training and educational components, as well as methods to collect and analyze data in order to evaluate the program’s impact. The SLCH Food Allergy Advisory Board, composed of community members, school nurses, dietitians, and concerned parents, helped guide FAME’s development.
“FAME is a timely initiative, and one we are sure will find a receptive audience in light of the recent passage of Missouri House Bill 922. The bill mandates that Missouri school districts have policies regarding allergy prevention and response in place by July of this year,” says McDarby.
The pilot phase of the SLCH Food Allergy Signature Program is now being implemented in five area schools:
- Coleman Elementary School, Meramec Valley R-III School District
- Mary Institute and Country Day School, a private kindergarten – 12th grade school in St. Louis County
- Jefferson Elementary School, Normandy School District
- Dewey Elementary International Studies Elementary School, St. Louis Public School District
- New City School, a private elementary school in St. Louis city
“The pilot program combines each component of FAME into a comprehensive approach that helps schools develop effective policies and procedures in regard to life-threatening food allergies,” says McDarby. Each element of FAME—developing a food allergy manual, educating and training school staff members and families, and having EpiPens on hand for emergencies—is designed to maintain an overall safe school environment for all children.
The FAME manual and tool- kit may be accessed online. To access the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ “Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States,” click here.
For more information about FAME and managing food allergies in the school setting, call 314.286.0947.
FAME Activities to Date at St. Louis-Area Schools
- Assisted 91 schools in our community on obtaining 155 EpiPens Food Allergy Management and Education Manual and Tool-kit distributed to 150 schools
- Food allergy in-services developed and provided to 150 school nurses; pre/post testing indicates a 17 percent increase in knowledge
- Provided food allergy and anaphylaxis training to 68 school teachers
- Educational materials/presentations to more than 1,000 family members
- Pilot program implemented in five area schools
