Sepsis is the body’s life-threatening reaction to an infection. In the United States, sepsis affects 1.7 million people and takes 270,000 lives. As many as 87% of sepsis cases originate in the patient’s community. EMS and prehospital practitioners are often the first medical providers to reach these cases. They transport as many as 50% of patients with severe sepsis who arrive at the emergency department.
EMS practitioners are often a sepsis patient’s first contact into the healthcare system and in severe cases, the timely assessment and treatment they provide can greatly impact patient outcomes. EMS practitioners are uniquely positioned to improve the early and vital care of sepsis patients – at home, in transport and during transfers – while protecting themselves and the wider community.
To assist EMS practitioners in understanding the symptoms and treatments for Sepsis, NAEMT has partnered with the Sepsis Alliance to provide the EMS profession with sepsis educational resources and training. Read release announcing new NAEMT-Sepsis Alliance partnership here.
Among the sepsis educational resources and trainings:
- Disaster Medicine: Sepsis was developed by Sepsis Alliance and BARDA, in collaboration with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The module aims to equip emergency and disaster medical personnel with the tools necessary to understand the fundamentals of sepsis, recognize it in the field, and rapidly care for those exhibiting signs and symptoms, even under the austere, resource-limited conditions typical of disaster settings. Disaster Medicine: Sepsis is completely free and virtual and offers free AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ or nursing continuing education contact hours to those who complete the training. Register here.
- Sepsis: First Response a training module that provides EMS personnel with the tools to rapidly identify and begin treating sepsis cases in the field, as well as how to effectively coordinate with the emergency department and in-hospital colleagues. CME and CNE credits are available for this training module on Sepsis Alliance, click here. CAPCE continuing education credit is available on EMS World for this training module – click here.
- Sepsis: Pediatric First Response, a training module to show prehospital and emergency medicine clinicians how to identify, assess, and begin treatment for pediatric patients with sepsis. CME and CNE credits are available for this training module on Sepsis Alliance, click here.
Sepsis Alliance is the leading sepsis organization in the U.S., working in all 50 states to save lives and reduce suffering by raising awareness of sepsis as a medical emergency. In 2011, Sepsis Alliance designated September as Sepsis Awareness Month to bring healthcare professional and community members together in the fight against sepsis.
For more information, please visit www.sepsis.org.
To access sepsis educational resources for EMS and prehospital practitioners, please visit www.sepsis.org/sepsis-first-response.
Sepsis: First Response training module.