Sepsis is a life-threatening response to infection that is a leading cause of hospitalization, hospital mortality, and long-term morbidity. HMS’s sepsis initiative was launched in 2021 and fully implemented in all 69 HMS hospitals in early 2023. We work to reduce both short-term mortality and long-term morbidity of sepsis throughout the state of Michigan (and beyond) through audit and feedback, education, facilitated implementation of best practices, and sharing of successes and challenges between our hospitals. We focus broadly on sepsis care from initial presentation through post-hospital follow-up. Our work is informed by a detailed sepsis registry including patient-reported outcomes collected 90 days post-discharge.

We regularly present the findings of our research and large-scale quality improvement at professional society conferences, including the American Thoracic Society, Infectious Disease Week, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and Society of Hospital Medicine. Since 2022, we have partnered with the CDC to develop, publish, and disseminate the CDC’s Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements, which serve as a “manager’s guide” to establishing and running effective programs to monitor and optimize hospital sepsis care.

In addition to the generous support from our sponsor, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) and Blue Care Network (BCN), HMS has partnered with the following national organizations to drive the sepsis initiative:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Sepsis Alliance

Click HERE to access the HMS Sepsis Toolkit 

Sepsis Alliance Institute Webinar (1.8 RN CE Contact Hours offered)

• HMS Sepsis – How a State-Wide Quality Collaborative Facilitates Performance Improvements and Collaboration

National Forum on Sepsis (09/13/2023)

• Please visit the following link to view the recording of the END SEPSIS National Forum. Dr. Hallie Prescott’s portion of the presentation begins at 3 hours and 4 minutes into the recording.

Dr. Hallie Prescott presented during Panel 2: New Data and New Ideas on a National Approach to Quality Improvement. She presented on HMS, the HMS Sepsis Initiative, and key features associated with success in quality improvement related to sepsis. HMS was recognized by the END SEPSIS initiative and many of the panelists of the session as a national leader in quality improvement in sepsis, which is a testament to the work and contributions of all HMS member sites and representatives.