Three States Describe How They Are Tackling Sepsis

​Although the Ohio Hospital Association's sepsis initiative has been under way for only a short time, mortality has already fallen by 9% from calendar year 2014 to calendar year 2015. "We estimated that 673 Ohioans are alive today as a result of this improvement effort," said Jim O'Brien, MD, vice president, Quality and Patient Safety, Riverside Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth, speaking during the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) August 30, 2016, town hall, How Three States Tackled Sepsis. Leadership support is key. "There was a big initiative around educating those at higher levels at hospitals," said O'Brien. Physician champions serve as cochairs of regional quality collaboratives, which choose areas of focus, and monthly coaching calls are recorded and made publicly available. The initiative has also collaborated with the local Hospital Engagement Network, the Sepsis Alliance, professional societies, prehospital and postacute care providers, and state agencies. Similarly, one of the lessons learned from New York State's sepsis initiative is that "involvement of stakeholders is key," said Marcus Friedrich, MD, MBA, medical director, Office of Quality and Patient Safety, New York State Department of Health.