Illinois House passes ‘Dillon's Law' to help more people carry Epi-Pens
Under Dillon's Law, anyone could be trained to use, carry and administer epinephrine (commonly called Epi-Pens) to save someone who is experiencing anaphylaxis. It is commonly only prescribed for people with known allergies.
Neoga superintendent speaks out against Illinois bill that would ban indigenous mascots
The legislation is named after 18-year-old Dillon Mueller, who died from anaphylaxis after being stung by a bee. He had no knowledge he was allergic to bee stings. Despite someone with him having multiple first aid kits as well as first responders attempting to help, no epinephrine was available to save Mueller.
The bill's sponsor said it will save lives for people with undiagnosed severe allergies.
'As the father of a daughter with a peanut allergy, I know how important it is to be prepared for allergic reactions,' State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) said. 'Dillon's Law will help keep people safe in unexpected emergency situations and help prevent unnecessary tragedies.'
Homeschool Act stalls in House ahead of April 11th deadline
Dillon's Law was first passed in Wisconsin in 2017, and has also been passed in nearby states like Minnesota, Indiana, and Michigan.
The bill received unanimous support from both chambers, and heads to the State Senate.
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Associated Press
31 minutes ago
- Associated Press
US organ donation system faces scrutiny and changes after reports of disturbing near-misses
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is developing new safeguards for the organ transplant system after a government investigation found a Kentucky group continued preparations for organ donation by some patients who showed signs of life, officials told Congress Tuesday. While the organ removals were canceled, near misses that some lawmakers called horrifying should never happen. A House subcommittee asked how to repair trust in the transplant network for potential organ donors and families -- some of whom have opted out of donor registries after these cases were publicized. 'We have to get this right,' said Rep. Brett Guthrie, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee and whose mother died waiting for a liver transplant. 'Hopefully people will walk away today knowing we need to address issues but still confident that they can give life,' Guthrie said, adding that he will remain a registered organ donor. The hearing came after a federal investigation began last fall into allegations that a Kentucky donation group pressured a hospital in 2021 to proceed with plans to withdraw life support and retrieve organs from a man despite signs that he might be waking up from his drug overdose. That surgery never happened after a doctor noticed him moving and moaning while being transported to the operating room — and the man survived. Lawmakers stressed most organ donations proceed appropriately and save tens of thousands of lives a year. But the federal probe – concluded in March but only made public ahead of Tuesday's hearing -- cited a 'concerning pattern of risk' in dozens of other cases involving the Kentucky group's initial planning to recover someone's organs. The report said some should have been stopped or reassessed earlier, and mostly involved small or rural hospitals with less experience in caring for potential organ donors. The Kentucky organ procurement organization, or OPO, has made changes and the national transplant network is working on additional steps. But notably absent Tuesday was any testimony from hospitals – whose doctors must independently determine a patient is dead before donation groups are allowed to retrieve organs. Here's a look at how the nation's transplant system works. There's a dire need for organ donation More than 100,000 people are on the U.S. transplant list and about 13 a day die waiting, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Only about 1% of deaths occur in a way that allows someone to even be considered for organ donation. Most people declared dead in a hospital will quickly be transferred to a funeral home or morgue instead. How the U.S. organ transplant system is set up Several groups are involved in every transplant: the hospital caring for someone dead or dying; the 55 OPOs that coordinate recovery of organs and help match them to patients on the waiting list; and transplant centers that decide if an organ is the right fit for their patients. Adding to the complexity, two government agencies — HRSA, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — share regulatory oversight of different parts of the donation and transplant process. How deceased donation works Most organ donors are brain-dead – when testing determines someone has no brain function after a catastrophic injury. The body is left on a ventilator to support the organs until they can be retrieved. But increasingly organs are donated after circulatory death, called DCD – when people die because their heart stops. It usually happens when doctors determine someone has a nonsurvivable injury and the family withdraws life support. Donation groups don't provide hands-on patient care Hospitals are required to alert their area OPO to every potential donor who is declared brain-dead or once the decision to withdraw life support is made. The OPOs by law can't participate in that decision and 'we are not even in the room at that time,' said Barry Massa of Kentucky's Network for Hope. During the following days of preparation, hospital employees continue caring for the patient – while the donation team talks with the family about the process, gathers hospital records showing the patient is eligible, requests tests of organ quality, and make arrangements with transplant centers to use them. Once the hospital withdraws life support and the heart stops beating there's a mandatory wait – five minutes – to be sure it won't restart. When the doctor declares death, the organ retrieval process can begin. Organs are only considered usable if death occurs relatively quickly, usually up to about two hours. Sometimes that takes much longer and thus the organs can't be used – and HRSA's Dr. Raymond Lynch told Congress that doesn't necessarily mean anything was done wrong. Still, he said HRSA is investigating reports of possible mistakes elsewhere. 'This is a technically demanding form of care' that requires 'good collaboration between the OPO and the hospital,' he said. What happens next At issue is how doctors are sure when it's time to withdraw life support from a dying patient — and the delicate balance of how OPOs interact with hospital staff in preparing for donation once death occurs. In May, HRSA quietly ordered the U.S. transplant network to oversee improvements at the Kentucky OPO and to develop new national policies making clear that anyone – family, hospital staff or organ donation staff – can call for a pause in donation preparations any time there are concerns about the patient's eligibility. Lynch said the government now wants more proactive collaboration from OPOs to give hospital staff 'a clear understanding' of when to at least temporarily halt and reevaluate a potential donor if their health status changes. Kentucky's Massa said his group only received HRSA's reports this week – but that after learning about last fall's allegations, it made some changes. Massa said every hospital doctor and nurse now gets a checklist on caring for potential donors and how to pause when concerns are raised — and anyone can anonymously report complaints. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Lawmakers want independent re-do of Air Force missile community cancer study
The Air Force started studying cancer rates in the nuclear missile community in 2023 due to pressure from ailing missile officers. Lawmakers may soon order an independent re-do of an ongoing Air Force study on possible cancer risk in personnel manning its nuclear missiles. A provision in the House's draft defense policy bill would, if passed, require the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to commission a study examining "occupational health and safety conditions" in Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile facilities. The sites include the underground alert facilities where Air Force missile officers spend long shifts prepared to launch in the case of nuclear war. The move comes after an independent researcher concluded there is an increase in cases of a rare cancer at an Air Force missile base in Montana, adding another wrinkle to a years-long push for answers. The new, congressionally directed research would also scrutinize the methodology and design of an ongoing Air Force study of the issue. The Air Force Medical Service and Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the service's nuclear-armed missile and bomber forces, began studying the missile community's cancer risks in 2023 after a Space Force officer compiled a list of cancer diagnoses at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. The Air Force study's preliminary findings indicated troops in the nuclear missile community don't have higher cancer diagnosis or death rates than other active duty servicemembers or the general U.S. population. The official study's environmental surveys, however, confirmed the presence of polychorinated biphenyls − a likely cancer-causing chemical − in alert facilities at Malmstrom and at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. And an independent assessment of self-reported Non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases at Malmstrom released in April found an increase in diagnoses among missileers. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, submitted the independent study amendment, which cleared a key hurdle when it passed the House Armed Services Committee on July 16. Bacon told USA TODAY that a meeting with one of his constituents − an ailing retired missile officer − moved him to author the provision. "Let's make sure that we have some outside experts working with the Air Force," said Bacon, who is a retired Air Force brigadier general. "We want to make sure there's credibility and, whatever results come out, that we've done total due diligence." The Omaha-based representative added that the Air Force needs to learn what's wrong in the aging Minuteman III launch facilities before it builds new ones for the planned Sentinel ICBM. Air Force officials defended the rigor and transparency of their ongoing study in a statement to USA TODAY. "We welcome the opportunity of scientific and medical professionals to review Air Force studies and to provide comments," said Alana Miller, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General. Miller emphasized the internal independence of Air Force epidemiologists conducting the study and their partnerships with external researchers who review their findings. The Torchlight Initiative, an advocacy group for missile community members, praised the independent study amendment in a press release. Torchlight has documented more than 800 self-reported cases of cancer and other exposure-related diseases among ICBM airmen and veterans. "There is an urgent need for ... thorough independent research, formal acknowledgement of likely exposures, and a sustained commitment to safeguard future personnel through enhanced environmental monitoring," the group argued. For the independent study to occur, the provision must make it into the final defense policy bill later this year. The House and Senate typically pass competing versions of the legislation before negotiating a compromise bill for the president's signature. Davis Winkie's role covering nuclear threats and national security at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
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8 hours ago
- Business Wire
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