Guest Blog by Deana Glenn, Founder of the Calmergé app
My name is Deana Glenn, and I am the founder of the Calmergé app. It is a free app to connect parents with teachers and help keep children safe with the anonymous sharing of health and allergy information, a patent pending feature.
Teachers first create an account and share their unique access code with the parents. Then, parents are able to create a secure profile for their child and share their allergies, symptoms with exposure, and if they carry an EpiPen with the teacher. All parents will be anonymously notified of the classroom allergies, so they know which foods to avoid sending to school. With food allergies on the rise, it can often be too much for a teacher to keep track of, especially if they have multiple students with food allergies. Now, teachers can view a list of their students and their allergies in one convenient place.
In addition to sharing allergy information, parents may also notify the teacher and anonymously notify all other parents of a new communicable disease in real time. Earlier notifications allow other parents to monitor their own children for symptoms, helping to slow the spread of contagious illnesses.
Calmergé also promotes communication between parents and teachers with the ability to send and receive messages, pictures, videos, and documents. Teachers can communicate individually with parents or send out classroom announcements. Teachers can update the classroom calendar with holidays or special events the parents can view. Teachers may even call or email parents right from the app!
Teachers are able to create snack sign ups on the calendar, and parents can choose from allergy safe foods pre-selected by the teacher. Parents can view what snacks are being brought everyday and can set reminders for their day to bring snacks. Teachers can also easily update parents daily on the amount of snack eaten and the length of nap taken.
The idea for Calmergé came to me when I was asked to bring snacks for my son’s Pre-K classroom. He was assigned a day once a month on a paper calendar. The only rules were no foods with nuts and nothing that had to be refrigerated. I never knew what he was eating and found myself needing reminders with my busy schedule. I also worried about classroom allergies besides peanuts.
Fast forward 3 years, and my 5 year old daughter had a severe allergic reaction to shrimp, just weeks before my app launched. Her blood test showed allergies to scallops, tuna, and hazelnuts as well. I now carry an EpiPen everywhere we go. As a new food allergy mom, I’m excited an app like Calmergé exists. My goal is to help spread food allergy awareness and keep our children safer at school.
If you have any questions or would like help getting Calmerge' set up at your child's school, you can contact me directly at calmergeapp@gmail.com.
Read more at: https://calmergeapp.com/
Watch a video walkthrough of Calmerge' on our Facebook Page: