The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is launching the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements to support all U.S. hospitals in ensuring effective teams and resources are in place to be able to quickly identify sepsis and save more lives. This new, critical resource is intended to help hospitals implement, monitor, and optimize sepsis programs and improve survival rates. CDC’s latest survey of 5,221 hospitals found 73% report having sepsis teams, but only half (55%) report that team leaders are provided with dedicated time to manage sepsis programs.
Modeled after CDC’s Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship, which has proven to be an impactful resource to protect patients from the harms caused by unnecessary antibiotic use and to combat antimicrobial resistance, the Sepsis Core Elements were created with the expectation that all hospitals, regardless of size and location, would benefit from this resource and incorporate the following elements into the foundation of a strong sepsis program:
- Leadership Commitment: Dedicating the necessary human, financial, and information technology resources.
- Accountability: Appointing a leader responsible for program outcomes and setting concrete program goals.
- Multi-professional expertise: Engaging key partners throughout the organization.
- Action: Implementing structures and processes to improve the identification of, management of, and recovery from sepsis.
- Tracking: Measuring sepsis epidemiology, outcomes, progress toward program goals, and the impact of sepsis initiatives.
- Reporting: Providing usable information on sepsis treatment and outcomes to relevant partners.
- Education: Providing sepsis education to healthcare professionals during onboarding and annually.
The launch of the Sepsis Core Elements coincides with Sepsis Awareness Month. During the month of September, CDC will provide life-saving educational information to healthcare professionals, patients, families, and caregivers about the importance of preventing infections that can lead to sepsis through its ongoing Get Ahead of Sepsis campaign.
