This is the last week of Sepsis Awareness Month. Sepsis is a medical emergency which was recently confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More Americans die every year of sepsis than from heart attacks. Recognition and treatment of heart attacks has evolved in recent years which has led to decreased mortality and morbidity. Sepsis should be treated in a similar manner with the same sense of urgency (Sara McMannus RN, MBA Clinical Program Manager, GE Healthcare Education Services).
Recently the Sepsis Heroes Gala was held by Sepsis Alliance, a charitable organization run by a team of dedicated laypeople and healthcare professionals who share a strong commitment to battling sepsis. The organization was founded in 2007, by Dr. Carl Flatley, whose daughter Erin died of sepsis when she was 23 years old.
Sepsis Alliance was created to raise sepsis awareness among both the general public and healthcare professionals. Sepsis awareness can and does save lives, yet fewer than half of American adults have ever heard the word. Sepsis Alliance gives a voice to the millions of people who have been touched by sepsis – to the survivors, and the friends and family members of those who have survived or who have died. Survivors and those left behind often feel as if they are alone.
The Sepsis Alliance team is dedicated to producing as much information about sepsis as they can, for the general public and healthcare professionals. Resources found on the Sepsis Alliance website include patient education handouts, Sepsis Information Guides, Sepsis Related Literature and much more. Additional resources can be found on the CDC website.
Left: Sepsis Heroes
Right: Sara Follin McMannus, RN, BSN, MBA (Sepsis Alliance Advisory Board) and Amanda Valeur (President and Founder of MCN Healthcare/MCN Learning and Director of the MCN Foundation