UNAC/UHCP Files Friend of the Court Brief in California Supreme Court Case – July/August’11 Voice

July 2011

UNAC/UHCP filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in May in support of the American Nurses Association in a California Supreme Court case involving whether unlicensed school personnel should be allowed to administer insulin injections to children in public schools across California.

Plaintiff American Nurses Association asserts that the law permits only licensed school personnel, such as school nurses, to administer insulin injections. UNAC/UHCP supports that position because misadministration of insulin can lead to devastating consequences, particularly for children who are too young to self-administer and communicate accurately all dietary or physical excursion changes each day. UNAC/UHCP Attorney Lisa Demidovich prepared the amicus brief.

If the California Supreme Court allows unlicensed staff to administer insulin, said Maureen Cones, the ANA’s lawyer, “students with disabilities will lose their right to receive health care from the licensed professionals who are qualified to provide it.”

The two lower courts that heard the case before the California Supreme Court granted review, ruled that the Nursing Practice Act allows only licensed school personnel to administer medication by injection, including insulin, in nonemergency situations.