Ohio governor signs 'Emily's Law'

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed legislation Wednesday establishing minimum qualifications for pharmacy technicians, officials said.

The new law requires that Ohio pharmacy technicians pass a competency test as well as a criminal background check.

"Emily's Law" is named after Emily Jerry, the 2-year-old girl who died after she was given a solution containing 23 percent salt, which proved fatal, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

On her birthday in 2006, the toddler went to Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital for a final chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

She slipped into a coma after a pharmaceutical technician prepared her intravenous treatment with a 23 percent saline solution instead of a typical mix of less than 1 percent.

"We told her we would celebrate her birthday and her successful cancer treatment when she got out of the hospital in a few days with a family trip to Walt Disney World," said Emily's mother. "It never happened. She

never got to unwrap her presents."