Suffolk legislation allows police to carry EpiPens
Georgina Cornago of Lynbrook has advocated for more EpiPens in public locations since her 14-year-old son, Giovanni Cipriano, died of an allergic reaction to peanuts in 2013. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Georgina Cornago of Lynbrook has pushed for more EpiPens in public locations since her 14-year-old son, Giovanni Cipriano, died of an allergic reaction to peanuts in 2013.
She advocated for New York’s Gio’s Law, signed by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in 2019 to allow training for local police to administer and carry epinephrine auto-injectors, a drug commonly referred to by the brand name EpiPen. Previously only EMTs had access to EpiPens.
A bill that unanimously cleared the Suffolk County Legislature on June 21 directs the county police commissioner to stock all patrol cars with EpiPens. The device delivers a dose of epinephrine to a person having a severe allergic reaction and can relax airway muscles and raise blood pressure to reverse the effects.
“The only thing that’s available to stop a reaction is, hopefully, epinephrine, but it’s not foolproof,” Cornago said. “If you don’t have it on you, there’s less likelihood of saving a life.”
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has not said if he will sign the legislation. Spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said he is reviewing it.
Legis. Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue), the bill’s sponsor, said it is expected to cost the police department $69,000 per year. The county is talking with a local hospital system to fund the first year of the program, he said.
Thorne, a former EMS provider, noted that while most ambulances are stocked with the auto-injectors, a police officer is often first on the scene of an emergency.
“It gives a good wraparound service for the immediate needs if somebody experiences an allergic reaction,” he said. “Time is not on your side when you're experiencing a full anaphylactic shock.”
He said officers already carry and administer the drug naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose. It is kept at the same temperature as epinephrine, so storage should not be an issue, he said.
Lou Civello, second vice president of the Suffolk Police Benevolent Association, said the union supports the initiative. Nearly all patrol officers have EMS certification and are already trained to administer the drug, he said.
“We think if it saves one child's life, it is totally worthwhile,” he said.
Similar legislation has not been passed in Nassau County. Nassau police spokesman Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun declined to comment on the department's EpiPen policy.
A bill that would have created a pilot program to put EpiPens in Nassau restaurants stalled last year amid questions about cost and liability issues.
The 2019 state law does not include funding for EpiPens, which can cost up to $700 each.
About 32 million Americans suffer from food allergies, and every year 200,000 people require emergency care for a medical reaction to food, according to the nonprofit allergy advocacy group Food Allergy Research and Education.
For Cornago, Suffolk's effort underscores the severity of the issue. She could not find an EpiPen at the time Giovanni, an otherwise healthy teenager, lost consciousness due to anaphylactic shock.
She urges people not to hesitate to deliver epinephrine at the first sign of anaphylaxis.
“Nothing is ever going to bring him back, but we wanted to help make sure this will never happen to other families like us,” she said.
Georgina Cornago of Lynbrook has pushed for more EpiPens in public locations since her 14-year-old son, Giovanni Cipriano, died of an allergic reaction to peanuts in 2013.
She advocated for New York’s Gio’s Law, signed by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in 2019 to allow training for local police to administer and carry epinephrine auto-injectors, a drug commonly referred to by the brand name EpiPen. Previously only EMTs had access to EpiPens.
A bill that unanimously cleared the Suffolk County Legislature on June 21 directs the county police commissioner to stock all patrol cars with EpiPens. The device delivers a dose of epinephrine to a person having a severe allergic reaction and can relax airway muscles and raise blood pressure to reverse the effects.
“The only thing that’s available to stop a reaction is, hopefully, epinephrine, but it’s not foolproof,” Cornago said. “If you don’t have it on you, there’s less likelihood of saving a life.”
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has not said if he will sign the legislation. Spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said he is reviewing it.
Legis. Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue), the bill’s sponsor, said it is expected to cost the police department $69,000 per year. The county is talking with a local hospital system to fund the first year of the program, he said.
Thorne, a former EMS provider, noted that while most ambulances are stocked with the auto-injectors, a police officer is often first on the scene of an emergency.
“It gives a good wraparound service for the immediate needs if somebody experiences an allergic reaction,” he said. “Time is not on your side when you're experiencing a full anaphylactic shock.”
He said officers already carry and administer the drug naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose. It is kept at the same temperature as epinephrine, so storage should not be an issue, he said.
Lou Civello, second vice president of the Suffolk Police Benevolent Association, said the union supports the initiative. Nearly all patrol officers have EMS certification and are already trained to administer the drug, he said.
“We think if it saves one child's life, it is totally worthwhile,” he said.
Similar legislation has not been passed in Nassau County. Nassau police spokesman Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun declined to comment on the department's EpiPen policy.
A bill that would have created a pilot program to put EpiPens in Nassau restaurants stalled last year amid questions about cost and liability issues.
The 2019 state law does not include funding for EpiPens, which can cost up to $700 each.
About 32 million Americans suffer from food allergies, and every year 200,000 people require emergency care for a medical reaction to food, according to the nonprofit allergy advocacy group Food Allergy Research and Education.
For Cornago, Suffolk's effort underscores the severity of the issue. She could not find an EpiPen at the time Giovanni, an otherwise healthy teenager, lost consciousness due to anaphylactic shock.
She urges people not to hesitate to deliver epinephrine at the first sign of anaphylaxis.
“Nothing is ever going to bring him back, but we wanted to help make sure this will never happen to other families like us,” she said.
Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
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