Another Privacy Question

[Richard B the EMT]

Telling the cooking staff that a child has specific allergies simply means, if they have individually cooked meals, they can be prepared in such manner that the allergy foodstuff won't be included in that child's meals.

I have friends with children, and the children's allergies go from peanuts, to wheat, to milk. Some of these 4 year olds have "epi-pens" that they carry with them at almost all times.

As for the birthdays, "My child cannot have any cake with peanuts, wheat, milk products, or chocolate in it, but he definitely should have a birthday cake!"

[Eydawn]

Having been part of the exact process being discussed, no, it is not a HIPAA violation. At the summer camp I worked at, when we check in the parents and kiddos, we require them to give the medics a health form listing meds, allergies, pertinent history, etc. and if they don't have it, they go home.

We also verbally ask about serious health conditions, allergies to bees or similar, and allergies to food. Most parents with kids with food allergies are ecstatic to realize that we're trying to keep their kids safe, and readily share all info with us with the implicit (and sometimes, if they ask) explicit knowledge that this information will be shared with kitchen staff. It's also good for the folks checking in everyone to have a "face" to go with the SEVERE PEANUT ALLERGY WE WERE CALLED ABOUT 7 TIMES BEFORE THE SESSION... lol.

If the kids need special, separate meals, the meals get sent to the shelters from the kitchen with the kiddo's name on them and the allergy listed, just as an extra cross-check. Also... only in very rare instances will we share more than the kid's first name with the kitchen staff. "Connor" with the "dairy" allergy at "Eagle's Nest" is usually sufficient.

Wendy

CO EMT-B