Currently only a school nurse can administer a shot to a student in the condition, but a bill in the state legislature would allow other school employees to be trained so they could also intervene.

Grant Robinson , WBIR 11:57 PM. EST February 19, 2017

KNOXVILLE - On Wednesday a couple from Knoxville will address the senate education committee in support of a bill that would expand access for training and administering a life-saving drug.

Adrenal insufficiency is a condition where a body doesn't produce cortisol - a hormone essential for managing stressors.

People with the disease may go into adrenal crisis, a medical state marked by severe pain, low blood pressure and loss of consciousness that if untreated can lead to death.

Adrenal crisis can be treated, but under the current state law school nurses are the only employees at schools who can administer the shot.

Senate Bill 117 amends that law by allowing other school employees to be trained to administer the injection.

Landon Adzima is a junior at Gibbs High School and lives with adrenal insufficiency. During last year's wresting state tournment, Landon suffered an adrenal crisis.

"There's nothing I could really compare it to," Adzima said. "It just felt like my body was shutting down and that I was helpless and there was nothing I could do about it.'

Adzima's parents were in attendance and were able to administer the drug. They worry that if a student is at school and the nurse is off campus, an adrenal crisis could cause lasting damage.

"We think it's important that school employees could be properly trained to give this injection in the absence of a school nurse," Andy Adzima said. "They're always the nearest person to the student in an emergency that might happen at the school and the time they might have to wait for someone who's legally allowed to give this injection could make a huge difference."

The bill would only require schools to train personnel if a parent or guardian notified the school that a student is diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency.

The bill is sponsored by Senator Richard Briggs (R - Knoxville), who is also a physician.

( 2017 WBIR)

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Family pushes bill expanding medical training in schools - WBIR.com

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