Quick thinking, EpiPen saves 8-year-old's life

by Austin Beck-Doss

Lander Journal

Via Wyoming News Exchange

LANDER — Earlier this year, the Lander Free Medical Clinic filled a EpiPen prescription for a patient who couldn’t afford to purchase his own.

A few months later, the man was attending a barbeque when an eight-year-old child had a severe allergic reaction to a cookie made with peanuts. Thinking quickly, he jumped into action with his free EpiPen and saved the child’s life.

Between one and two percent of people can develop anaphylaxis – a potentially fatal allergic reaction that comes on suddenly and can cause the airway to close in just a few minutes.

A 2017 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that the majority of people with severe food allergies – most of them children – don’t carry an epinephrine auto-injector with them at all times.

In Wyoming, where the number-one health care-related concern is affordability and 16% of adults are uninsured, the cost of epinephrine can be a barrier to acquiring it.

“What typically happens is, people have a severe allergic reaction, they go to the emergency room, and then they receive a bill for several thousands of dollars,” noted Free Clinic founder Kevin Wilson. “There are charity care programs that can cover that bill, but there’s a lot of effort involved, and at the end, people still don’t have an EpiPen.”

Emergency rooms treat anaphylaxis, but the symptoms’ rapid progression calls for a more urgent and readily available intervention.

If a person with a serious bee allergy is stung while out hunting a mile from the car, the ER might as well be on the moon.

“Epinephrine is a life-saving medication,” reiterated Wilson. “There are a lot of dire situations waiting to happen right here in Fremont County because people who need EpiPens just don’t have them.”

When the heroic Free Clinic patient administered the epinephrine for the child at the critical moment, they were at a home outside Shoshoni and miles from the nearest emergency medical services.

“An EpiPen had been recommended to the child’s mom in the past, but she couldn’t afford to pay for it at the pharmacy,” said Wilson. “Luckily, there was one on site in the hands of someone equipped and ready to use it.”

The man who used the EpiPen has since had his prescription refilled free of charge.

Earlier this year, Wilson began stocking donated EpiPens alongside insulin, Narcan, and other life saving drugs at the Free Medical Clinic. Since then, he’s filled 30-plus epinephrine prescriptions and significantly increased the number of EpiPens within the Lander community.

“It’s not like EpiPens are commonly included in first aid kits or next to defibrillators in office buildings,” Wilson observed. “They’re surprisingly hard to come by.”

Free epinephrine hardly scratches the surface of the Free Clinic’s ever-growing list of available services.

In a side wing of the Trinity Episcopal Church at 860 South Third Street, the main treatment room is loaded floor to ceiling with diagnostic equipment, wound care necessities, and sealed medications ready to prescribe.

Patients are advised to call ahead, but they won’t be turned away if they simply walk in.

“Our staff of three is here on a regular basis, and volunteer physicians are on site at least once a week,” Wilson said.

If patients need access to a specialist such as a cardiologist or eye doctor, Wilson can coordinate the care through his growing rolodex of partners.

“When a patient needs something that we haven’t facilitated before, we do everything we can to make it possible,” he explained. “Saying ‘no’ is an absolute last resort.”

Since the clinic opened its doors less than two years ago, it has served an estimated 200 patients.

“The majority of our patients have all their health needs met right here in this room,” said Wilson, gesturing around to the orderly stacks of supplies. “But we realize that health care is just one piece of the puzzle. We work in conjunction with food banks, housing resources, and childcare programs. It’s all inextricably linked.”

Wilson and his staff realize that many low-income people in the community are accustomed to negative experiences with health care providers. Part of the job is changing these perceptions by making people feel welcomed and cared for, but first, the clinic has to get the word out.

“Dozens of individuals and families who could benefit from our services haven’t found us yet,” Wilson insisted.

The clinic’s own community assessment found that there are over 400 uninsured people in Lander living on income that’s less than 200% of the federal poverty level.

As for folks seeking to acquire EpiPens for themselves or loved ones, Wilson has plenty of unopened boxes ready to distribute. If a prescription is needed first, the clinic can help with that, too.

“Life-saving drugs don’t belong behind affordability and logistical barriers,” Wilson said. “They belong in people’s hands, and that’s why we’re here.”