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Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20170&cosponId=24458
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: August 31, 2017 11:14 AM
From: Senator Thomas H. Killion
To: All Senate members
Subject: “Sepsis Awareness Month” in Pennsylvania (September)
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring a resolution designating the month of September 2017 as “Sepsis Awareness Month” in Pennsylvania.

Sepsis is defined as the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. In other words, it is the body’s over active and toxic response to an infection.

Sepsis has been named as the most expensive in-patient cost in American hospitals in 2014 at nearly $24 billion each year. Forty percent of patients diagnosed with severe sepsis do not survive. Up to fifty percent of survivors suffer from post-sepsis syndrome. Until a cure for sepsis is found, early detection is the surest hope for survival and limiting disability for survivors.

In 2011, the national Sepsis Alliance officially designated September as Sepsis Awareness Month, which is now recognized internationally by sepsis advocates; shining a spotlight on sepsis by spreading the word around the globe. In devoting September as the official month to get involved and make a difference with sepsis awareness, more organizations, healthcare systems, and individuals are able to make a concentrated effort on sharing information.

In 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, with support from the Hospital & Healthsystem of Pennsylvania (HAP), brought together more than 200 healthcare leaders from across the Commonwealth for the first of-its-kind conference titled Stopping Sepsis: Saving Lives in Pennsylvania. The one-day conference was very successful and a number of sepsis experts discussed how Pennsylvania can combat sepsis. Another HAP conference is being planned for September 6, 2017, titled Raising the Bar for Sepsis Care in Pennsylvania.

Sepsis is treatable, especially with early recognition and care. You may help by learning the signs and symptoms of sepsis; and taking action in your community to spread the word.

I hope you will join me in helping to raise awareness for this medical emergency.

Thank you for considering co-sponsoring this resolution.



Introduced as SR179