In 2015 a law was passed allowing school districts in Iowa to stock and use epinephrine autoinjectors (commonly known as EpiPens) pens for students experiencing a suspected severe allergic reaction, but not all of them do. Last fall, RN-BSN student Hannah Obermeyer (24BSN) played an integral role in bringing EpiPen access to students in a rural, northern Iowa community school district.
Obermeyer completed her RN-BSN Community and Public Health practicum with school nurse and preceptor Bonnie Hiscocks at the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura (GHV) Community School District in Garner, Iowa. Obermeyer knew she only had a short time to make an impact and had a strong desire to be constructive during her semester-long practicum. “After reading up on the literature and talking to [Hiscocks] about what she needs at the school, EpiPens seemed to be one of the biggest things that could really help,” she recalls. “It was something that she had been wanting to do for a long time but just didn't have the legwork to get it done. And I said, ‘well, I'm here’.”
Obermeyer spent a lot of time becoming knowledgeable about the Departments of Health and Education guidelines for EpiPen use in Iowa schools. One of her biggest takeaways was that there is no clear outline to help schools implement the law. “There's just a set of grayish guidelines,” she says. She also spent a lot of time working on the protocol with Hiscocks and the community physician and nurse. Per the community physician’s request, “the protocol will be shared with Emergency Medical Services, so they will know what the school should have already done for the patient when they respond to a call,” she says.
Obermeyer presented the project and protocol to the GHV School Board on Dec. 9, 2024, and it was approved unanimously to have EpiPens in the GHV schools. “The school board was really receptive to it. They were excited about it,” she says. Now the finer details, like the school board policy and who is paying for the storage boxes, have to be ironed out.”
“Hannah worked so hard and I was impressed with her attention to detail,” says Hiscocks. “I am so excited to have this option for students, staff, and community members if there were a crisis within the school building. I have heard from parents feeling a sense of relief knowing there is this option if their child was to have an anaphylactic reaction.”
Obermeyer’s practicum is over, but her desire to help her community remains strong. She recalls telling Hiscocks, “I'm still here, so let me know what I can do to help you so we can keep this going. My son goes to that school, and I want the school to have this as a resource.”
Obermeyer plans to earn her master’s degree and wants to follow her passions towards nursing research or education. She cites Betty Mallon, assistant professor of instruction, as an inspiration. “Betty has been so encouraging with everything I have done,” she says. “She’s the driving force behind why I want to continue with higher education.”