Sepsis Alliance Voices

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In 2019, Sepsis Alliance began expanding into advocacy work, with the understanding that saving lives and reducing suffering from sepsis requires more than educating healthcare providers and the public. It also requires speaking out in our communities and in halls of power and using our voices on behalf of patients with sepsis, survivors, families, and caregivers. The Sepsis Alliance Voices initiative was born.

Now, we are ramping up our efforts. Beginning in 2022, our advocacy work will be guided by five major priority areas:

Seeking greater health equity:

Sepsis, like many medical conditions, disproportionately impacts those who have historically lacked access to quality healthcare, including some communities of color and individuals experiencing poverty. We aim to help close gaps in patient outcomes and expand access to high-quality sepsis care.

Curbing antimicrobial resistance (AMR):

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when specific strains of bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites learn to defeat the antimicrobial medications we used to kill or stop them. Because sepsis often requires effective antimicrobials to treat, AMR is particularly dire for patients with sepsis. Curbing the threat of AMR is one of our top priorities.

Measuring sepsis to better manage it:

Clinicians, researchers, innovators, policymakers, and the public need good data to better understand sepsis, and therefore to improve its diagnosis and treatment. One of our top priorities is getting sepsis data collected in a readily available place, so that those fighting sepsis are better able to understand what they’re up against.

Improving outcomes for pregnant people:

Infection or sepsis is the second leading cause of pregnancy-related mortality in the U.S., and the U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the industrialized world. We aim to help improve outcomes for people who develop sepsis during or following a pregnancy, so that more survive pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.

Keeping the spotlight on the #1 cause of death in U.S. hospitals—sepsis:

When Carl Flatley, DDS, MSD, founded Sepsis Alliance, there wasn’t sufficient focus on sepsis in the general public, hospitals, or in the halls of government. In 2021, sepsis awareness levels among U.S. adults were up to 65%, up from 19% when Sepsis Alliance was first founded. Still, more than 1.7 million Americans are diagnosed with sepsis every year, so we have a long way to go. As advocates for better sepsis awareness and care, we aim to keep the national spotlight where it belongs—on sepsis.

Sepsis Alliance Voices emphasizes that anyone can be a sepsis advocate, and we hope you’ll join us. Below, discover how to connect directly with your elected officials, learn about sepsis-relevant pieces of legislation from across the country, and take action today on key issues affecting patients with sepsis and their families.

Want to stay up-to-date on Sepsis Alliance’s advocacy work and new ways to get involved? Sign up for our advocacy newsletter here.

Sepsis Alliance Voices Advocacy Toolkit. For those who have never done advocacy work before, the idea of using your voice in this new way might feel intimidating. But be assured that advocacy skills, like any other skills, can be learned – even professional lobbyists were once new to this! This toolkit is meant to support you in getting started.

Click here to download!

NEW: Sepsis Alliance Voices Advocacy Training: This advocacy primer enables all members of the Sepsis Alliance Voices community – including survivors, caregivers, loved ones, healthcare professionals, researchers, and more, in all 50 states – to confidently join our local and national sepsis advocacy efforts.

Attendees will learn:

What advocacy is;
What it can look like for sepsis-relevant issues;
How to connect with elected officials and other decision makers;
How to energize neighbors and community members;
How to start using the tools of advocacy TODAY to speak out and save lives from sepsis!

Click here to view!

Sepsis Alliance gratefully acknowledges Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, Edwards Lifesciences, and Roche for their unrestricted grant support of this advocacy training webinar.

Sepsis Alliance gratefully acknowledges Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, Merck, and Pfizer Inc. for their unrestricted grant support of our grassroots advocacy activation platform.

« August 2022 »