Two years ago, Michael Brown died while playing golf on the Vineyard due to anaphylactic shock from a wasp sting, an allergy he didn’t know he had. This year, thanks to the advocacy work of his wife Megan Shai Brown, three bills have been introduced at the State House that could increase access to lifesaving allergy medication.
The bills aim to make it easier for police departments, schools and other organizations to store and use epinephrine auto-injectors, such as EpiPens, in emergency situations, and in the process save lives.
Mr. Brown died suddenly in 2023 at the age of 41. He first visited the Island during summers and eventually moved here full time, working at the Wharf, where he and Ms. Shai Brown met. He later worked for Performance Mechanical Industries on the Island, and was an Little League coach for he and Megan’s two sons.
Following Mr. Brown’s death, Ms. Shai Brown began to advocate to make epinephrine more accessible. Her work started on the Vineyard. Thanks in part to her advocacy, the Edgartown police department began to carry EpiPens to administer in emergency situations this fall.
“He is, of course, my motivation for this doing in his honor, keeping his memory alive and going, and to try and ensure that no other families have to go through this senseless pain,” Ms. Shai Brown said in a recent interview with the Gazette.
Epinephrine auto-injectors are only available to individuals through prescription. People who experience a severe allergic reaction for the first time, as Mr. Brown did, do not have access to the medication.
Ms. Brown with sons Calvin and Miles.
— Ray Ewing
The new legislature, if passed, would make it possible for more locations, including restaurants and youth sports leagues, to carry the medication. The bills would also provide legal protections to police departments carrying epinephrine auto-injectors and require schools to stock the medication.
In order to increase awareness about these bills, Ms. Shai Brown and others will host an education day at the
state house on June 24. Physicians, law enforcement and people impacted by anaphylaxis will present on the topic.
State Rep. Thomas Moakley, who introduced one of the three bills in February with state Sen. Julian Cyr, said that Ms. Shai Brown has been instrumental in organizing the event.
“Megan Shai has done amazing advocacy work on the Island and beyond,” Mr. Moakley said.
The first bill, which Ms. Shai Brown calls the Michael Brown Law, would allow for any organization where allergens may be present to stock auto-injectors and train employees to use them. She also emphasized the importance of training.
“It will take the fear factor out if it happens in their place of business,” she said. “It will give staff the tools to recognize the symptoms and act fast.”
She added that she knew nothing about allergic reactions before her husband suffered an anaphylactic shock.
“Before this happened to my husband, to be honest, I thought if you touched an EpiPen, you could die,” she said. “Since this has happened, I’ve talked to so many people across different aspects of life, and there is so much misinformation out there about EpiPens.”
Ms. Shai Brown compared the idea to the availability today of automated external defibrillators (AED). She goes through CPR-AED training every other year because her family owns restaurants. In the training, she said, everyone is taught how to use the AED and to call 911.
“You want to try to get that medical device that’s life saving on the person as fast as possible,” she said. “That is the same idea with the EpiPens, having them in our communities and available in restaurants and in stores, hotels, wherever it is, available as fast as possible.”
While researching how to make epinephrine more accessible, Ms. Shai Brown met others in similar situations, including Chandler Smalling Sullivan, from Walpole, whose daughter almost died from an anaphylactic reaction in preschool. Since the incident, Ms. Smalling Sullivan had been advocating for the Walpole Police Department to carry auto-injectors.
According to Ms. Shai Brown, Ms. Smalling Sullivan’s daughter had an allergic reaction to sunflower butter. The police were the first to respond, but did not have an EpiPen. The ambulance followed close behind, and those responders did have the medication.
“You could see a way where, if the ambulance was held up, that’s a horrible, very different outcome,” Ms. Shai Brown said.
Ms. Shai Brown and Ms. Smalling Sullivan worked with state Rep. John Rogers, a Democrat from Norwood, to re-file a second bill that would help protect police who administer medical assistance for an anaphylactic reaction.
“It increases liability protection for police officers and hopefully encourages police chiefs to put [EpiPens] in their medic bags,” Ms. Shai Brown said. “They are usually the first on the scene….Let’s give them all the tools that they need to save a life.”
The third bill Ms. Shai Brown is seeking support for would require schools to maintain a stock of epinephrine auto-injectors. She said that it is important to have non-patient specific medication in schools because many people do not know that they have allergies before a reaction happens.
For example, during the 2021-2022 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Health reported 286 anaphylactic events across schools in the state. Of those, 19.2 per cent did not have have a known history of allergies. These numbers include students, teachers and visitors to schools.
“If the school doesn’t have undesignated EpiPens in their school, then they have to call an ambulance and wait for that ambulance to come, and that’s again, valuable life saving time,” Ms. Shai Brown said.
At present, the three bills have been referred to committees. The next step will be for each bill to receive a public hearing, where people will be able to testify in person, virtually or in writing.
Ms. Shai Brown is encouraging people to reach out to their representatives and senators to help her honor her husband’s legacy, who she said was a strong community member, incredible father and wonderful husband.
“We have the medicine that can save lives,” Ms. Shai Brown said. “Let’s make sure that we can get it out there, so it can do what it’s there for.”
