On Tuesday, March 20th, 2018, the Global Sepsis Alliance, under the patronage of the EU Commissioner for Health & Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, hosted the event 'Sepsis - The Most Preventable Cause of Death and Disability in Europe - A Call to EU Action' in Brussels, Belgium. More than 120 people from different backgrounds and nationalities participated and enjoyed the keynote of Commissioner Andriukaitis and the presentations of Edward Kelley, Director Service Delivery and Safety from the WHO, Konrad Reinhart, Chair of the Global Sepsis Alliance, Ron Daniels, Founder and CEO of the UK Sepsis Trust, and Gary Cohen, President of Global Health from BD, as well as the personal story of Dennis Kredler, who is a sepsis survivor. All presentations can be downloaded below.

In the second part of the event, we founded the European Sepsis Alliance (ESA), which aims to unite European GSA Members and develop and implement a Pan-European sepsis strategy. In four working groups (Quality Improvement of Early Diagnosis and Management, Awareness Raising and Lobbying, Patient and Family Advocacy, and Research), we laid the foundation for this important milestone.

Before closing, the participants, representing major European stakeholders in the fight against sepsis, unamimously adopted The Brussels Sepsis Resolution (download below), which urges the European Commission, Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament:

• To endorse the WHO Resolution on Sepsis and to encourage all European countries accordingly to develop national Action Plans and strategies to improve prevention, recognition, management, and rehabilitation of sepsis;
• To support a comprehensive Pan-European infection management strategywith sepsis as a key element
• To promote awareness on sepsis by organizing an European Sepsis Week around World Sepsis Day (September 13th)
• To encourage and support the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) to engage in sepsis education for citizens and healthcare professionals following the shining example of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US and similar initiatives in the UK and elsewhere,
• To consider the inherent links between AMR, ICP and sepsis in the new resolution of the EU Parliament to tackle antimicrobial resistance;
• To expand existing EU research programs on Infection control and AMR to better understand the human, medical, and economic burden of sepsis for Europe and to support the development of innovations to shorten and improve the diagnosis and management of sepsis and reduce the burden of its sequelae for survivors

To become involved in the European Sepsis Alliance, please get in touch.

Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of New York State, was honored with a GSA Award for implementing life-saving sepsis protocols in all New York State hospitals. These protocols, also known as 'Rory Regulations', named after Rory Staunton, who died of sepsis in 2012 in New York, have saved more than 5,000 lives already, and will save countless in the future. Since their introduction, there has been a 20 percent increase in the identification of sepsis and a decrease in sepsis mortality rates in adults from 30.2 percent to 25.4 percent in New York.

Dr. Carl Flatley, founder of the Sepsis Alliance and the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation, presented the Global Sepsis Award to Marcus Friedrich, the Chief Medical Officer to the New York State Department of Health, who accepted the award on behalf of Governor Cuomo.

“New York State has been leading the fight against sepsis and, as the data shows, our efforts are working to save lives and increase early detection and treatment of this deadly condition,” said New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard Zucker. “Thanks especially goes to Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton for their advocacy and continuing to fight in Rory’s memory to prevent further tragedies. It is our hope the rest of the nation recognizes the success that can be achieved by using Rory’s Regulations as a model for combatting and ultimately ending sepsis infections once and for all.”

— Dr. Howard Zucker, New York State Commissioner of Health

“The sepsis protocols implemented by Governor Cuomo are already saving lives and will save many more,“ said Dr. Carl Flatley, who is also Chairman of the GSA Awards Jury. “If these types of protocols had been in place in Florida when my daughter Erin became ill with sepsis, they may have saved her life.”

— Dr. Carl Flatley, Chair GSA Awards Jury

Prior awardees in the category of Governments and Healthcare Authorities were UK Secretary of Health J. Hunt, the Turkish Minister of Health M. Müezzinoglu, and Federal Minister of State to Chancellor A. Merkel Helge Braun. The Global Sepsis Award winners were chosen by the GSA Award Jury, which is a panel of internationally recognized experts in patient safety and sepsis management.

“The GSA Award Jury was absolutely impressed, not only by Governor Cuomo’s introduction of these protocols in all New York State hospitals, but also with his decision to carefully monitor the results of their implementation,” said Dr. Konrad Reinhart, Chair of Global Sepsis Alliance. “We hope other states and countries will follow in Governor Cuomo’s footsteps and implement similar programs that will save lives from sepsis.”

— Dr. Konrad Reinhart, Chair Global Sepsis Alliance

On March 21st, 2018, World Sepsis Day Supporters from all over the world came together at ISICEM 2018 in Brussels for the first World Sepsis Day Supporter Meeting this year. We had a jam-packed agenda - Konrad Reinhart, Chair of the Global Sepsis Alliance, Hiroki Saito from the World Health Organization, Simon Finfer, GSA Executive Board, Vida Hamilton, National Clinical Lead for Sepsis in Ireland, Tobias Gothow, General Manager of the German Sepsis Foundation, and Marvin Zick, General Manager of the GSA, all held presentations, which you can view and download below. In addition, supporters had the opportunity to report on their national activities and strategies, and what they were planning for World Sepsis Day in 2018. We thank everybody who was there and who wanted to be there - your support means the world to us!

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Konrad Reinhart, GSA - Strategy of the GSA for 2018 to 2020

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Hiroki Saito, WHO - Clean Your Hands - Prevent Sepsis in Healthcare

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Simon Finfer, GSA - Approach to National Sepsis Plan in Australia

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Vida Hamilton, HSE - Update on the Irish National Sepsis Strategy

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Tobias Gothow, GSF - Approach to National Sepsis Plan in Germany

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Marvin Zick, GSA - 2nd World Sepsis Congress

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The Sepsis Mexico Foundation will give the workshop "Integral Resuscitation of the Patient with Sepsis" during the International Conference on Emergency Medicine (ICEM 2018), organized by the International Federation of Emergency Medicine (IFEM) and the Mexican Society of Emergency Medicine AC (SMME). The course has a program taught by experts, specialists in emergency medicine, infectology and epidemiology, with topics such as: "Sepsis-3 - Definition and Controversies", "Water Resuscitation", "Volume Response Evaluation", "Rational Use of Antimicrobials", and more.
It will take place on June 5, 2018, in the pre-congress events, entirely in Spanish.

On September 5th and 6th, the Global Sepsis Alliance, initiator of World Sepsis Day and World Sepsis Congress, will host the 2nd World Sepsis Congress. The 2nd WSC is a free online congress in which over 100 renowned experts from all around the world will give presentations on all aspects of sepsis, fostering our aspiration to bring knowledge about sepsis to all parts of the world. The congress will be held in English and is open to everyone with an internet connection.

Applications and nominations for the 2018 GSA Awards will close in two weeks, on March 31st, 2018.

The GSA Awards honor major contributions in the fight against sepsis every year and are exclusively sponsored by the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation.
They are granted in three categories:

1. Governments and Healthcare Authorities
2. Non-Governmental Organizations, Patient Advocate Groups, or Healthcare Provider Groups
3. Individual Nominees

In addition to glory, prestige, and a beautiful trophy, winners of category 2 and 3 are awarded with $ 2,500 each.

The deadline to apply is March 31st, 2018. Please share this call with your colleagues, friends, and other interested parties.

In two weeks, on March 21st, 2018, the GSA will hold its next WSD Supporter Meeting at the International Symposium of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. Main topics will be the collaboration with the WHO to roll out the demands of the Resolution on Sepsis, an update on the establishment of regional and national sepsis alliances, the 2nd World Sepsis Congress (September 5th and 6th, 2018), and much more.

Additionally, we are looking forward to your ideas, proposals and suggestions to further improve our GSA activities.

• Wednesday, 21st March 2018
• 12:15 to 14:30h
• Meeting Room: 201 A&B
• Snacks will be provided
• Participation is free of charge and open to everyone

In two weeks, on Tuesday, March 20th, 2018, the Global Sepsis Alliance, jointly with EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, will host the event 'Sepsis - The Most Preventable Cause of Death and Disability in Europe - A Call to EU Action' in Brussels, Belgium.

The event will take place from 14:30 to 20:00 in the Palace of the Académies (Rue Ducale 1, 1000 Brussels), which is in walking distance of both the European Commission as well as the Square Meeting Center, where the 38th ISICEM is held. 

You are hereby cordially invited to join us, the Commissioner, and many more prestigious speakers for this groundbreaking symposium.

This event will highlight the human and economic burden of sepsis in Europe, point out that most sepsis deaths and impairments are preventable, foster the implementation of the requests of the WHO Resolution on Sepsis across the European Union, and call for the development of a Pan-European sepsis strategy. Additionally, this symposium will serve as the kick-off meeting for the European Sepsis Alliance.

Due to limited seating capacity, please RSVP to the event using the button below. We look forward to meeting you in Brussels in March!