Congratulations to the Winners of the 2021 GSA Awards
We are excited to officially announce the winners of the 2021 GSA Awards today. The Global Sepsis Awards – kindly sponsored by the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation – honor outstanding efforts to increase sepsis awareness and raise the quality of sepsis prevention and management worldwide.
Congratulations to all winners of the 2021 GSA Awards:
WINNERS CATEGORY I – GOVERNMENTS AND HEALTHCARE AUTHORITIES
The winner in category I is Karl Lauterbach, German Federal Minister of Health, on behalf of the G7 Health Ministers.
The Award Jury – comprised of internationally recognized experts in patient safety and patient advocacy – evaluated all award submissions and identified the award winners. The jury was absolutely impressed by:
The exemplary funding for the DES campaign over a four-year period – enabling education endeavors of the public, the population at increased risk for sepsis, and healthcare workers on sepsis prevention, early recognition of, and the need to treat sepsis as an emergency
This was also true for acknowledgments and goals that were set in the recent Communiqué of the G7 Ministers of Health, such as:
That delayed diagnosis and management and/or ineffective or unavailable antibiotic treatment leading to sepsis is killing an estimated 11 million people per year globally
The commitment to intensify the efforts to strengthen early detection, diagnosis, and therapy of sepsis and ensure synergy with antimicrobial stewardship and IPC programs, e.g., through national educational campaigns
To boost the implementation of the WHA Resolution “Improving the Prevention, Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Sepsis” (Res. 70.7)
To support LMICs to strengthen prevention through capacity-building where appropriate, and access to diagnosis and treatment for resistant infections
The members of the GSA Award Jury unanimously conferred this award because said commitment by the G7 leadership marks another quantum leap in the fight against sepsis, especially since the fast enactment of the goals of the resolution has the potential to save millions of lives annually worldwide.
WINNERS CATEGORY II – NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, PATIENT ADVOCATE GROUPS, OR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER GROUPS
The winner in category II is the Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, USA.
Houston Methodist Hospital identified a high sepsis-related mortality rate in 2005. Since then, the hospital has embarked on a rigorous journey focusing on sepsis management and process improvement. This led to a multidisciplinary approach for creating and implementing innovative principles of sepsis identification, management, education, and follow-up, resulting in new protocols, processes/procedures across the hospital system and beyond. The effort required extensive collaboration with staff, hospital units, and leadership across the hospital system, including involvement with community leaders and partnerships with other healthcare systems.
Getting to this point was no easy task. They found that focusing on collaboration, technology, education, and awareness was key in guiding and informing their mission. With this in mind, The Houston Methodist Sepsis Care Management Process Improvement Program was created to support and drive:
New education programs and initiatives domestic and international
Relentless revising and modification of protocols, processes, manpower, etc.
Set standard for Sepsis diagnosis – Sepsis Early Recognition and Response Initiative (SERRI)
This sepsis initiative has since expanded to other institutions. Houston Methodist Hospital was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (CMS) Health Care Innovation Awards program to further expand its program to involve nursing schools, private and academic institutions, Long term Acute Care, and skilled nursing facilities in several Texas cities.
Many conferences, symposia, domestic, and international outreach
Quality improvement programs leveraging technology such as care sense and post-sepsis recovery
The results of these efforts so far:
The sepsis mortality rate has been reduced from a high of 35% in 2008 to 8.2% as of July 2022
Potential lives saved (from 2009-June/ 2022) is 2224
Potential cost savings (from 2009-June/2022) is $98 million
In short, their work has led to an organizational transformation that has significantly reduced the mortality of sepsis, and allowed them to share our knowledge here and abroad; with our colleagues, and with the communities we serve. But their work continues.
WINNERS CATEGORY III – INDIVIDUAL NOMINEES
The winners in category III are Victorien Dougnon from Benin and Matthew Wiens from Canada.
Sepsis surveillance data are almost non-existent, biological diagnosis of sepsis is inaccessible and antibiotic resistance handicaps optimal management of sepsis cases in Benin. For this reason, Dr. Victorien Tamègnon DOUGNON (https://dougnonvictorien.bj), Associate Professor in Microbiology at the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin), Country Ambassador of American Society for Microbiology, Champion of Microbiology Society, President of Benin Young Academy of Science and Head of the Research Unit in Applied Microbiology and Pharmacology of natural substances (https://urmapha-epacuac.bj), has been committed for 2-3 years to improve the surveillance, diagnosis, and management of sepsis. Indeed, he contributed to documenting the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Beninese health care personnel (physicians, pharmacists, and laboratory technicians) regarding the management of sepsis and especially in relation to the use of antibiotics. These data have proven to be very useful for effective advocacy to increase the population's knowledge of the disease. It is within this framework that several mass sensitization activities supported by policies have been conducted under his leadership.
Very active and tireless, the young researcher has organized several workshops involving high-level policymakers to issue guidelines and ways to improve the gaps observed. He has also nurtured a strong collaboration with several international institutions including PSR Finland (https://lsv.fi/english/) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. At the national level, he works with the CeRADIS (a Beninese NGO, http://www.ceradis.org) and the Ministry of Health to impact 24 clinical laboratories, 10 trainers of trainers (biologists), 50 trained clinical laboratory personnel in total, numerous infectious diseases doctors, the general public and civil society in Benin.
Matthew Wiens is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology, and Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia and is a member of the Center for International Child Health at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC. He is a global health epidemiologist and public health researcher dedicated to improving the outcomes for children with sepsis after discharge.
His recognition that post-discharge mortality confers a similar burden as hospital mortality led him to Uganda to develop the Smart Discharges program to improve the hospital-to-home transition following admissions for sepsis. Matthew has built a robust team including partnerships with many institutions in Uganda. He has led several cohorts and interventional studies with enrollments of over 10 thousand children who are admitted with sepsis.
The prediction models developed by Matthew’s team have been wedded to innovative digital technology interventions, which have demonstrated improved discharge practices, post-discharge follow-up as well as better health outcomes among children after discharge. His partnership with the Uganda ministry of health has led to the implementation of Smart Discharges in 19 facilities in Uganda. He continues to extend this program throughout Uganda, has initiated studies in Rwanda, and is seeking further expansion into Tanzania.
Working with Walimu and other partners, Matthew continues to expand the Smart Discharges model of care for other high-risk groups, such as mother-baby dyads discharged from facility births, as well as school-aged children and adolescents admitted with suspected sepsis. Matthew’s research is funded by various organizations, including the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Grand Challenges Canada, the Thrasher Research Fund, and the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.
About the GSA Awards
The Global Sepsis Awards – kindly sponsored by the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation – honor outstanding efforts to increase sepsis awareness and raise the quality of sepsis prevention and management worldwide. The awards are granted in three categories, namely governments and healthcare authorities, non-governmental organizations, patient advocate or healthcare provider groups, and individuals, consistent with the aims of the World Sepsis Declaration and the World Sepsis Day Movement.
Applications and nominations for the 2022 GSA Awards will open soon.