It’s Sepsis Awareness Month. HCA thanks the state Senate for passing a resolution earlier this year to mark the occasion, with special thanks to Senate Health Committee Chairman Gustavo Rivera for his sponsorship.
In observance of Sepsis Awareness Month, HCA President Al Cardillo talked recently with Dr. Benita Zahn for her “Health Beat” program on WNYT NewsChannel 13 about the signs and symptoms of this lethal condition, which claims more than 258,000 lives annually. Watch the clip here.
Sepsis is a condition where early diagnosis and treatment are vital. Mortality from sepsis increases 8% every hour that treatment is delayed.
On a systemic level, it is costly, accounting for the most expensive hospital condition billed to Medicare and the number-one cause of hospital readmissions, which is why policymakers are urged to pay close attention.
Home care is performing a vital role in addressing this problem, and HCA is working hard to #StopSepsisatHome, the title of our screening initiative where home care clinicians are helping to prevent the 80% of sepsis cases that occur in the home.
Recent home care research, soon to be published, is revealing the successes of this endeavor at a single agency.
Rochester-based HCR Home Care is soon publishing an article on sepsis in a future edition of the Journal of Nursing Care Quality. Reviewing patient records between May 2018 and December 2019, HCR’s analysis found:
- Of 33,264 sepsis screens completed among 7,242 patients during this time frame, there were 211 positive sepsis screenings involving 188 patients.
- 156 screenings met criteria for sepsis and 55 screenings met criteria for severe sepsis.
- 69.2 percent of positive screenings for sepsis and severe sepsis resulted in patients receiving early medical intervention while remaining at home and avoiding hospitalization.
To learn more about sepsis, please visit Sepsis Alliance and End Sepsis: The Legacy of Rory Staunton.
To learn more about our nationally recognized #StopSepsisatHome initiative and home care clinical sepsis tool, visit www.stopsepsisathomeny.org.