HI SR70

Requests the Department of Health Director to establish a Sepsis Best Practices Group with one physician champion and one administrative representative from each acute care hospital in Hawaii.

Group shall meet regularly to discuss best practices, educational opportunities, and federal sepsis policies, and monitor Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services quality measures.

Group tasked with performing sepsis improvement needs-assessments at each facility, defining state sepsis incidence baselines, and partnering with critical access hospitals to disseminate best practices.

Requires the group to develop a comprehensive plan to combat sepsis and submit written findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the Legislature by twenty days before the 2017 Regular Session.

Resolution addresses sepsis as a serious public health threat, noting it kills over 258,000 Americans annually and is the ninth-leading cause of disease-related death, with heightened concern due to dengue fever outbreak in Hawaii County.