Joint Commission Resources, Inc., today released the March 2016 issue of the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. The issue features an article, “The Sepsis Early Recognition and Response Initiative (SERRI),” by Stephen L. Jones, MD, MSHI, and colleagues, on the implementation of a program to improve sepsis care and reduce mortality at Houston Methodist Hospital and the 14 other facilities in the Texas Gulf Coast Sepsis Network.
Sepsis is a leading cause of death in the United States. To address this critical patient safety issue, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) now requires hospitals to report their performance on a composite process of care measure for severe sepsis and septic shock in 2016. To help meet the requirements, the site-specific implementation incorporated four key elements of SERRI:
- Leadership
- Education of bedside nurses and second responders
- Incorporation of a five-item bedside systemic inflammatory response system/sepsis screening tool into electronic health record systems
- Audit and feedback of process and outcome data
The elements were modified to accommodate differences in mission, staffing, clinical processes and medical record systems among the facilities. By January 2015, except for two new sites that joined in mid-2014, all acute-care SERRI sites were screening more than 80 percent of inpatients whose stay was sepsis-associated. In addition, screening by site had reached 89 percent to 98 percent of sepsis-associated stays in the post-acute care sites.
Source: Joint Commission Resources, Inc.
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25
June 30th 2025Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.
A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides
June 26th 2025As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.
Getting Down and Dirty With PPE: Presentations at HSPA by Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski
June 26th 2025In the heart of the hospital, decontamination technicians tackle one of health care’s dirtiest—and most vital—jobs. At HSPA 2025, 6 packed workshops led by experts Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski spotlighted the crucial, often-overlooked art of PPE removal. The message was clear: proper doffing saves lives, starting with your own.