Sepsis Advocacy Highlights: 2024 So Far
March 27, 2024
2024 began with a bang! During the first few months of the year, major strides were made in sepsis-related policies, laws, and regulations around the country.
Below, discover sepsis advocacy highlights from the year so far!
- CDC Receives $3 Million from Congress for Sepsis Programming: In its funding package for fiscal year 2024, Congress set aside $3 million to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s sepsis programming. This is the largest amount that Congress has ever allocated to sepsis! The CDC’s sepsis programming includes its Sepsis Core Elements program, which helps clinicians, hospitals, and health systems improve hospital management and outcomes of sepsis.
- Maryland General Assembly Votes in Favor of Lochlin’s Law: In Maryland, sepsis was on the agenda! In February, the Maryland General Assembly voted in favor of Lochlin’s Law, a bill that would expand sepsis protocols and education throughout the state, in hospitals and urgent care centers alike. Lochlin’s Law is named for Lochlin DeSantis, a young boy who passed away from sepsis after a flu infection. His parents, Brooke and William DeSantis, helped to develop and support this bill in his honor. They also run the Love for Lochlin Foundation, which won the 2023 Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award.
- HB 477 / SB 247 Passes in Kentucky!: Another state bill – this one in Kentucky! In March, the Kentucky General Assembly considered a bill that encourages early diagnosis of sepsis and ensures Medicaid coverage for early sepsis diagnosis. UPDATE: On April 9, 2024, Governor Andy Beshear signed this bill into law!
- AMR Policy Briefing on Capitol Hill: On March 5th, Sepsis Alliance took part in a Capitol Hill policy briefing on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Congressional staffers and other Washington DC stakeholders attended. The event featured Jackie Duda, a sepsis survivor and advocate, who shared her moving sepsis story and discussed the connections between sepsis and the AMR crisis. Thank you, Jackie, for your dedicated advocacy!
- Sepsis Prevention in the President’s Budget: In March, President Biden released his budget for the upcoming year, and it included funding for many important programs that impact sepsis. The budget included a $30 million increase for programs tackling emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases; a $50 million increase for programs working on immunization and respiratory diseases; and a $10 million increase in programs targeting antimicrobial resistance. It is terrific that the President is investing in programs that help prevent infection. Infection prevention is sepsis prevention!
Sepsis Alliance Voices celebrates these advocacy wins! Our vision is a world in which nobody is harmed by sepsis – and advancements like these will lead to improvements in sepsis awareness, diagnosis, and treatment.
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