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Burns Middle first in state to earn Seizure Smart School status

Messenger-Inquirer - 3/2/2018

March 02--Burns Middle School will make a little history Friday, March 2.

In the morning, students will listen to a 30-minute training session about seizures. When that's done, BMS will be the first school in Kentucky to earn a certificate for being a Seizure Smart School from the Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana.

Student training was the final requirement for certification.

The school already completed two other important steps in the program. Each student with epilepsy has a seizure action plan, and the school's employees received specialized training.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 3 million people in the U.S. have epilepsy, which is a brain disorder that causes seizures.

Wendi Kozel, Daviess County Public Schools health coordinator, said 25 students at BMS have epilepsy. About 800 students attend there.

BMS wasn't in greater need for specialized training, Kozel said.

"This is an expansion of routine seizure training we do with our staff," she said. " ... Education is always beneficial. Getting that information out to students as well as staff is something we can build upon in the future."

David Pettit of Utica serves as EFKY's education coordinator for western Kentucky.

The foundation rolled out the program in January, Pettit said, but started working on the Seizure Smart School program two years ago.

For Pettit, there is a special sense of pride in BMS being the state's first school to earn the designation. He taught reading, language arts and social studies there between 1973 and 1985.

On another note, Pettit has personal reasons for wanting to get the word out about seizures and epilepsy.

At age 50, he developed a disorder called complex partial seizures, and his dad suffered from epilepsy.

As a kid, Pettit's family drummed into his head that he could never talk about his dad's condition for fear he would lose his job.

"There's a certain stigma with epilepsy, and we're trying to stamp that out when we can," Pettit said.

As far as BMS being the state's first school to complete the Seizure Smart School program requirements, Pettit credits Principal Dane Ferguson with being proactive.

"As we learn more about the various health issues and health concerns facing our students and staff, we want to help prepare them with the skills and knowledge needed to help a friend or co-worker in an emergency," Ferguson said in a press release. "Our ultimate goal is to make the world around us a better place for everyone."

Renee Beasley Jones, 270-228-2835, rbeasleyjones@messenger-inquirer.com

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