Nursing Leader Honored for Community Sepsis Education and Lifelong Advocacy

Sepsis Alliance is proud to announce that Theresa Mostasisa, RN, BSN, MS, PHN, DSD, EdD, is the 2025 recipient of the Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award.

Dr. Theresa Mostasisa was on her way to work when she opened an email from Sepsis Alliance. It was a Monday morning in July, and she had just been talking to her husband about the frustration she was feeling preparing for Sepsis Awareness Month. “I literally started to cry because it couldn’t have come at a better time,” she said. The email notified her that Dr. Carl Flatley, founder of Sepsis Alliance, wanted to connect. Later that day, she spoke to Dr. Flatley, who told her she had been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award, in recognition of her years of work promoting sepsis awareness. 

“I heard him, but I was still in shock,” she said. “He said Erin’s name, and something about an award, and I just kept thinking, how could this be happening? Then I realized, I might be getting an award for something I love doing.” 

As a Quality Nurse Consultant and Sepsis Coordinator, Theresa has over 30 years of experience in nursing and healthcare education. She has served as a bedside nurse, director, administrator, and educator, and still teaches nursing students today at a community college and university in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work with sepsis began in 2008, when she helped launch “Code Sepsis” simulation drills and research projects as Director of Education at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco. In 2014, she co-led the “Stomp Out Sepsis” initiative at Sutter Health hospitals. In 2019, she joined a large non-profit healthcare organization in California, where she now helps lead one of the top-performing sepsis programs in the region, with consistently low mortality rates and a robust year-round sepsis awareness calendar. 

But she’s not only focused on hospitals. Theresa’s passion lies in educating the public, using her background in teaching to make complex topics approachable. She’s particularly committed to community outreach, bringing sepsis education to people and demonstrating that prevention and early recognition are achievable. Most recently, she delivered a presentation at the World Congress in April 2025 as a Keynote Speaker in Manila, discussing sepsis. 

“I realized we needed to reach people before they ever step into a hospital,” she said. “Most sepsis cases start in the community, and often it’s too late. If we can educate earlier, we can save lives.” Despite pushback early in her advocacy when she was told she was “doing too much” or “scaring people,” she kept going. “I thank that person now,” she said. “Because those comments motivated me to push harder. Education is key.” 

Receiving the Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award has been deeply meaningful to her, both professionally and personally. But more than anything, she says, it validates the work of so many people who have joined her in the fight against sepsis. “This award isn’t just for me,” she said. “It’s for all the people, nurses, physicians, students, families, and community members who are working to make sure sepsis is recognized and treated early.”