CDC launches sepsis program for hospitals, with AHA support

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Aug. 24 announced the launch of its Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements initiative, a new program to provide hospitals with a blueprint to managing medical emergencies stemming from sepsis. The program, which is modeled after a similar effort for antibiotic stewardship, is intended as a “manager’s guide” to organizing staff and making the resources available to improve sepsis care and bring survival rates up.

“I’ve seen firsthand how committed hospitals and health systems are to improving patient safety and reducing sepsis,” said Chris DeRienzo, M.D., AHA’s chief physician executive. “Sepsis is a complex disease and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to preventing, identifying, treating and measuring it in hospitals. That’s why CDC’s Sepsis Core Elements offer a broad scaffolding for hospitals to build the program they need to best support their own communities.”

In conjunction with the announcement, CDC released the results of its 2022 National Healthcare Safety Network Annual Survey, which evaluated the prevalence and characteristics of sepsis programs in acute-care hospitals. According to the study, the overwhelming majority of hospitals of all sizes reported having a committee that monitors and reviews sepsis care, ranging from 95% of hospitals larger than 500 beds to 53% for hospitals with 0-25 beds.