U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) recently cosponsored a bipartisan bill that would establish programs to reduce rates of sepsis, a condition triggered by an infection in which the body’s immune system overreacts, potentially leading to organ damage, failure, and even death.
“This bipartisan bill would help provide hospitals and healthcare professionals with the training and data they need to detect and treat sepsis earlier, so that fewer families lose loved ones to this devastating condition,” Sen. Collins said on Monday.
The Securing Enhanced Programs, Systems, and Initiatives for Sepsis (SEPSIS) Act, S. 1929, which U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sponsored on June 3 with two original cosponsors, including Sen. Collins, aims to reduce sepsis deaths by tasking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with working to improve sepsis care in hospitals.
Specifically, S. 1929 would task the CDC with dedicated sepsis work in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, building on ongoing efforts to reduce the burden of sepsis through the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements.
The CDC’s work would include an education campaign about addressing sepsis in hospitals; improving data collection on pediatric sepsis; sharing information across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on sepsis quality measures; and development and implementation of a sepsis outcome measure.
Additionally, S. 1929 would require a report to Congress to evaluate the sepsis outcome measure, and includes a voluntary recognition program for hospitals that maintain effective sepsis programs or improve their sepsis programs over time, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Collins’ office.
The Sepsis Alliance, the American Hospital Association, and the Federation of American Hospitals endorsed the measure, which is under consideration in the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.