This past week, the Middle Tennessee State University Police Department began equipping patrol officers with Anaphylaxis Emergency Kits (AEKs). These kits contain Epi-Pen Epinephrine Auto-Injectors in two different dose sizes: one for small children and another for adults. The MTSU Police Department has responded to 192 medical emergency calls this year, totaling nearly 20% of all calls for service received.

The AEKs will be utilized during emergency medical calls that involve life-threatening cases of anaphylaxis, which is a sudden and severe allergic reaction that can cause a swelling of the tongue or throat, shortness of breath, vomiting, low blood pressure, and an itchy rash.

In regards to the deployment of these AEKs, Chief of Police Buddy Peaster stated, "When it comes to medical emergencies, especially those where a student on campus may be having a sudden allergic reaction to something they ate and now they can't breathe, time is very important. We decided that it was important to equip our officers with these kits so that they could provide more help during these kinds of medical emergencies."

The MTSU Police Department provides full-time law enforcement services for the entire Middle Tennessee State University campus and campus community.