Mann School Principal Nimisha Kumar Welcomes Illinois'
First Lady Patti Blagojevich to Oak Park and Thanks Her
for Her Efforts.
© Oak Park Journal photo
First Lady Patti Blagojevich Came to Mann School
Today to Announce Illinois as the First State in the
Nation to Offer Education Kits Concerning Food
Allergies.
report by Ed Vincent
When the wife of the Governor came to school today
with her daughter Annie, the combined class of Laurie
Volz and Alex Fotopolus, a first and second grade
combined class, was filled with film and still camera from
most of the local news companies. The lights were on
and the kids had the attention of everyone. The attention
was to be on the kids, for they were the topic of all the
events this morning.
Kids spend a significant amount of their lives in school
and this was all about making sure that experience was
made much safer for the entire State of Illinois.
Oak Park already has a wonderful track record of
working with students and families regarding the
safety of children with special medical needs of all
types.
The cameras are on the speakers, but the attention is on the
children.
© Oak Park Journal photo
First Lady Patti Blagojevich with daughter Annie in arms, is in front of
(to her right) Illinois State Rep. Deborah Graham and Illinois State
Senator Don Harmon.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Illinois' First Lady holds an information packet with
materials explaining the proper procedures for children with
food allergies. Mrs. Blagojevich told of her own experience
with food allergies in her young daughter, who is allergic to
milk and peanut butter, some in a severe way.
She also expressed great gratitude at the work that had been
done by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN
www.foodallergy.org ). Mrs. Blagojevich noted that when
her daughter was found to have severe symptoms to some
foods, she found recipes on the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network that allowed her to bake a birthday cake for her
daughter that was safe and tasty.
Elliot Regenstein and his two year old daughter
Zoe appreciate the new education move by the
state.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Isabelle Picciotti is 6 year old student at Mann School
and she has allergies to peanuts, bees and mangos. She
is in Laurie Volz and Alex Fotopolus class (where the
press conference was happening) and some of allergies
were apparently passed from her mother and some
from her father. She is able to eat nuts that come from
trees with no problem, but peanuts are an entirely
different matter. Many of the parents we spoke to
who had children with food allergies had many of the
same allergies themselves. Some allergies people can
outgrow and some lessen with age, while others remain
through out ones entire life. It was noted that perhaps
as many as one person in twentyfive has allergies to
some food. The reactions to those allergies can be mild
to severe and should be avoided.
The Mann School nurse, Cam Niederman said that ten
years ago there was not one peanut allergy recorded in
the school, there are now a total of twelve. It is hard to
determine if there is an actual increase or just more
reporting of the allergies with new attention being given
to them. Some feel that there is an increase and others
are more doubtful.
Patti Blagojevich with daughter Annie in tow talks
with reporters about specifics of the States plans.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Mrs. Blagojevich feels that there might be more
notice of the allergies due to possible cross
contamination of foods being processed in the same
factories. She told me that her daughter has
many of the same allegeries that she too has.
We also talked about when she first noticed the
issue with Annie. When she breast fed her daughter
there was no problem with her milk, but regular
milk from the store made a rash like appearance
on her cheeks from a kiss that was given by someone
who just finished a glass of milk. Today Annie looks
healthy, happy and fine and the whole family knows
what she can eat and what to stay away from.
Mrs. Blagojevich is helping to set a good example for
the rest of nation to follow, concerning the health and
well being of all of our children.
"Anaphylactic reactions can be mild to life-threatening. The annual incidence of anaphylactic reactions is about 30 per 100,000 persons, and individuals with asthma, eczema, or hay fever are at greater relative risk
of experiencing anaphylaxis."
from the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network
First Lady Patti Blagojevich announces new program making Illinois first state in the
nation to offer a statewide food allergy
education in schools
First Lady urges parents and school personnel to become better
educated on life threatening food allergies
OAK PARK — First Lady Patti Blagojevich today announced that Illinois schools will now be better equipped to prevent potentially life threatening food allergy reactions in children. The First Lady
launched a new awareness campaign targeted at educating school personnel and students on the dangers of food allergies. Working
with The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), the state
will offer food allergy educational kits to the approximately 5,000
K-12 schools and licensed child-care centers in Illinois. The kits will help schools keep kids with food allergies safe from reactions. Illinois becomes the first state in the nation to offer a statewide food allergy educational program.
According to FAAN, peanut allergy in children has doubled in the past
five years, and the estimated number of Americans with food allergy has increased from 6 million to approximately 11 million. With reports of increased food allergy issues, the First Lady urged parents and school personnel to become better educated on how to identify and avoid the potentially life threatening effects of food allergies.
“I know parents of children with food allergies worry every day
about what their children eat. I know because one of my daughters,
Annie, is severely allergic to dairy products and peanuts. As a
mother who also has the benefit of being the First Lady, I want to
make sure we’re doing everything we can to give the people responsible
for feeding our children in school the information and prevention methods they need to keep kids with food allergies safe,” said Mrs. Blagojevich.
According to FAAN, more than 11 million Americans have food allergies and approximately three million children under the age of 18 years old, or l-in-25 American children, have a food allergy. There is
no cure for food allergies, so individuals must be mindful and avoid foods that pose a health risk. Although an individual can be allergic
to any type of food, eight foods account for 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (walnut,
cashew, etc.), fish, shell fish, soy and wheat.
The kits distributed to schools will include “The School Food
Allergy Program,” a multi-media training guide created by FAAN which
will help school personnel develop a comprehensive plan specifically geared towards successful management of food allergies
in their schools.
“Illinois is leading the nation and is setting the example of how all schools nationwide should approach the safety of its students. It is FAAN’s hope that many more states follow Illinois,” said Anne Munoz-Furlong, Founder & CEO of FAAN. “There is a need, now more than ever, for standardized training programs for school staff to address this growing public health and food safety issue.”
FAAN encourages school administrators to remember their ABCs when instituting a food allergy school safety plan:
A — Advance planning. Schedule a meeting with school staff and
the parents of the food allergic student to discuss the student’s food allergy.
B — Be a PAL. Educate other students about food allergies and
help them learn how to help friends that have food allergies. Teach students the five steps to being a PAL:
(1) Recognize that food allergies can be very serious and shouldn’t
be taken lightly;
(2) Don’t share food;
(3) Wash hands after eating;
(4) Find out what your friends are allergic to and help them to
avoid it; and
(5) Get help immediately if a schoolmate has a reaction.
C — Create a safe environment. Schools need to create a safe environment by minimizing risk and developing an emergency
response plan should an allergic reaction occur.
Beginning today, letters will be mailed to Illinois schools
encouraging school personnel to order their educational kit. The distribution of the kits will come at no cost to the state or local
schools, and has been underwritten by a generous private donation.
Schools that are interested in obtaining the free training guide
should contact FAAN at 1-800/929-4040 or via the web at www.foodallergy.org.
© Oak Park Journal
published by Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
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