FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Jim Flanigan, SCCM
(847) 827-7282, jflanigan@sccm.org
Grant Extends Groundbreaking Work of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign
(Mount Prospect, Illinois, November 10, 2010)—A $600,000 grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will support the continuing work of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign®, including development of revised severe sepsis and septic shock treatment guidelines. Severe sepsis affects nearly 750,000 Americans annually, resulting in about 200,000 deaths. “The Foundation’s generosity will save thousands of lives as more patients with severe sepsis or septic shock receive timely, evidence-based care,” said Sean R. Townsend, MD, Vice President of Quality and Safety at California Pacific Medical Center, who will serve as the principal investigator for the grant.
The funds will be managed by the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), one of the international organizations that founded the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) in 2002. The evidence-based guidelines were initially published in 2004 and revised in 2008 to provide a basis for standardized care throughout the world.
Revised sepsis guidelines will incorporate recently published evidence, leading to revision of the existing treatment bundles. The grant will support an updated website and free downloadable database, as well as research to address additional high priority questions related to the identification and treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock. During the grant period, the Campaign intends to widen the number of hospitals that apply the Campaign’s principles. “We have assembled an unprecedented panel of experts from 27 professional organizations around the world with a stake in the care of sepsis patients to contribute their knowledge and expertise to the process,” says R. Phillip Dellinger, MD, FCCM, Director, Critical Care Medicine, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ, and co-chair of the guidelines writing committee.
One hundred sixty-five hospitals around the world voluntarily collected data to demonstrate the beneficial effects of the bundles, according to Mitchell Levy, MD, FCCM, immediate past president of SCCM, Professor of Medicine at Brown University, and lead author of the paper that outlines the Campaign’s initial results. “Our analysis of more than 15,000 patient charts showed that the Campaign was associated with sustained, continuous quality improvement in sepsis care and a reduction in reported hospital mortality rates. In an effort that spanned 3 continents, compliance with the sepsis bundles increased by 20 percent over two years and was associated with a 7 percent reduction in hospital mortality.” Dr. Levy said. “We are gratified to see how many other organizations have recognized the need to address this serious challenge to world health by building on the foundation the Campaign has established. Through this grant, we now have the opportunity to continue this vital educational mission.”
By partnering with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the Campaign applied proven quality improvement processes to its activities, including development of care bundles and measurement tools to assess performance improvement. The benefits of that partnership will continue as the Campaign moves forward. Through clinicians’ use of “sepsis care bundles,” a set of specific actions based on the guidelines, patients can be assured of receiving consistent treatment that has been proven to save lives.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, established in 2000, seeks to advance environmental conservation and cutting-edge scientific research around the world and improve the quality of life in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal of the Betty Irene Moore Nursing Initiative, named after our co-founder, is to improve nursing-related patient outcomes of adult acute care hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Sacramento. For more information, please visit www.moore.org.
The Society of Critical Care Medicine is the leading professional organization dedicated to ensuring excellence and consistency in the practice of critical care medicine. With 15,000 members worldwide, the Society is the only organization devoted exclusively to the advancement of multiprofessional intensive care through excellence in patient care, professional education, public education, research and advocacy. For more information on SCCM’s quality improvement programs, visit www.sccm.org.
For more information on the past activities of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign and to see a list of the 27 organizations involved in the current guidelines revision, visit http://www.survivingsepsis.org
-###-
Recent Articles of Note
