Sepsis

Why We Want to Prevent Sepsis

Sepsis, or septicemia, is a life-threatening complication of infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sepsis is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death. More than 1.1 million people in the United States were diagnosed with septicemia in 2008, with a mortality rate between 28-50 percent of severe sepsis patients.

Research by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that the cost of treating sepsis in the United States in 2013 was nearly $24 billion. Sepsis was among the four most costly conditions and accounted for 6.2 percent of all hospitalization spending that year. Sepsis was one of the few areas of spending growth in healthcare from 2011 to 2013, in comparison to spending reductions or stability of most conditions.

Success Within New Jersey Hospitals

Compared to baseline, New Jersey's hospitals have reduced sepsis by 16 percent, avoiding 3,330 potential cases of sepsis.

This was accomplished in part through hospital participation in the following collaborative efforts:

New Jersey Sepsis Learning and Action Collaborative

In late 2014, healthcare organizations from around the state came together with the New Jersey Hospital Association with a common goal: to save lives by improving the care of patients with sepsis across New Jersey. Since then, the New Jersey Sepsis Learning and Action Collaborative has grown to be a multi-discipline, dynamic support network for healthcare providers.

Click here to view Year One results

Our Goals Moving Ahead

By September 2018, each participating NJHIIN hospital will reduce sepsis mortality by at least 20 percent.

Resources

• NJHA Toolkit for Post-Acute Care Settings
• NJHA Sepsis Patient Education
• NJHA Sepsis Patient Education (Spanish)
• Surviving Sepsis Campaign
• Examples of protocols and checklists
• Educational resources
• Sepsis Alliance
• Nursing resources
• Patient and family resources
• Educational resources for Spanish-speaking patients and families
• Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: 2016
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sepsis Information
• HIIN Sepsis - Readmission Interview Tool: Focused Adaptation for Patients Previously Admitted with Sepsis

NJHIIN Webinars

• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar - Standardized Screening for Maternal Sepsis Featuring Dignity Health, April 20, 2016
• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar - Sepsis Care on the Wards Featuring Dr. Andy Odden, June 15, 2016
• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar - EMS’s Role in Sepsis Management Featuring Atlantic Health Ambulance Corporation- Aug. 17, 2016
• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar - A Healthcare System’s Approach to Sepsis Featuring CarePoint Health - Oct. 12, 2016
• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar- Sepsis Guideline Update Featuring Dr. Phil Dellinger and Christa Schorr - April 19, 2017
• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar - Preventing Sepsis Readmission featuring Dr. Giana Davidson – June 29, 2017
• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar - Coding and Sepsis Definitions - October 18, 2017
• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar - Battling Sepsis with the CHOP NICU Team - Leaders in Neonatal Care - January 10, 2018
• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar - 2018 Update - April 18, 2018
• Sepsis Management in Home Care - September 25, 2018
• NJ Sepsis Learning Action Collaborative Webinar - State and Federal Updates, Discussion of Sepsis Disparities and Sepsis 3 Definition - April 8, 2019
• Pediatric Sepsis Case Identification for Quality Improvement and Research, featuring Dr. Scott Weiss - December 10, 2019