Sepsis Care Improves at SLV Health

In  2001, medical organizations saw a need for improvement for sepsis awareness and care due to the fact that sepsis has been identified as one of the leading causes of hospital readmission and sometimes death. In 2003 representatives from 11 international societies convened to develop guidelines for the management of severe sepsis and septic shock, which were published in 2004. The goal of these guidelines is to have front line staff consistently identify sepsis early and quickly to apply lifesaving interventions to stop the progression of severe sepsis or septic shock. It has been proven that these guidelines increase positive patient outcomes.

Sepsis Perfect Care is the early recognition and treatment of patients who present to one of SLV Health’s facilities with an infection that their body cannot fight on its own. This can be overwhelming to a patient’s body and can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.

SLV Health leadership recognized a need for improvement and formed a Sepsis Team consisting of: the Chief Medical Officer, Emergency Department Providers, Hospitalists, Nursing Staff, and team members from Risk Management and Quality and Safety. They implemented best practices within SLV Health’s organization. 

Since the formation of this team, SLV Health has steadily increased in identifying and treating patients with sepsis. SLV Health’s internal audit in early 2019 shows that SLV Health is 30% above the national average in Sepsis Perfect Care, 24% above the state of Colorado, and steadily increasing!  SLV Health’s Sepsis Team meets monthly to identify any barriers keeping them from providing perfect care and improving processes that increase positive patient outcomes.