PETOSKEY, MI -- The moment a sepsis patient walks into a hospital their clock is ticking.
Sepsis is a condition that can have a quick onset and result in death.
This week, several local hospitals gathered to address the condition at the Northern Michigan Hospitals Sepsis Initiative Summit.
“Well the message was quick. You have to respond very quickly. You have to identify and recognize when patients are coming in with a Sepsis cluster or signs or symptoms of Sepsis,” said Colleen Allen, Senior Director Performance Improvement and Safety at Northern Michigan Regional Hospital in Petoskey.
Sepsis is a condition characterized by an overwhelming, whole body response to an infection.
Health officials say there are about 750,000 new cases each year. More than a quarter of those cases are fatal.
“What happens is…often the organs that are really very dependent on you staying alive…often will fail when you are in full blown Sepsis,” Allen said.
It’s because of the severity of Sepsis that efforts are being made at Northern Michigan hospitals to familiarize doctors, nurses and pharmacists with the condition.
Health administrators say it is their job to know how to detect it and treat it when lives are on the line.
