SCR105.DOC

WHEREAS, sepsis is a serious medical condition caused by an overwhelming immune response to bacterial infection, whereby immune chemicals released into the blood to combat infection trigger widespread inflammation; and

WHEREAS, sepsis can lead to shock, organ failure, and death; and

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that sepsis kills more than 258,000 Americans each year and leaves thousands of survivors with life-changing after effects; and

WHEREAS, there are over 1,000,000 cases of sepsis in the United States each year, with sepsis being the ninth-leading cause of disease-related death in the nation; and

WHEREAS, patients hospitalized for sepsis or septicemia had longer lengths of stay and more than an eight-fold increase in in-hospital mortality than patients hospitalized for other diagnoses; and

WHEREAS, there is currently no database of mortality rates by sepsis or incidence of sepsis-related infection across the State; and

WHEREAS, in 2014, the Legislature recognized the seriousness of sepsis and requested the convening of a task force to recommend ways to reduce incidents of sepsis and sepsis-related deaths in the State; and

WHEREAS, in its January 2015 report to the Legislature, the State of Hawaii Sepsis Task Force wrote "[i]t would also be valuable to establish a baseline for Hawaii for future evaluations of the impact of interventions", and recommended that efforts should be put in place to "work towards defining a more representative sepsis incidence baseline in the [S]tate, either through the use of administrative or clinical data"; and

WHEREAS, the current outbreak of dengue fever in Hawaii County further necessitates heightened attention to sepsis, as dengue shock syndrome is a type of sepsis; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to conduct a study to gather baseline information on the incidence of sepsis in Hawaii and the sepsis mortality rate; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study:

(1) Examine and identify barriers to quality care for patients with sepsis;

(2) Compile data about the mortality rate from sepsis throughout the entire State;

(3) Examine any potential links between septic shock and dengue shock syndromes and any correlation with higher rates of patients contracting sepsis in Hawaii County;

(4) Review and assess national models, best practices, and guidelines in relation to Hawaii's needs;

(5) Consider options for improving early recognition, identification, and treatment of sepsis and septic shock in Hawaii's hospitals;

(6) Provide recommendations to improve the collection, use, and reporting of quality measures by medical staff related to the recognition and treatment of sepsis;

(7) Provide recommendations to improve public education about sepsis, including its symptoms, diagnoses, treatment, and preventive measures;

(8) Identify barriers and make recommendations to address the costs of sepsis and costs necessary to combat sepsis; and

(9) Provide any other recommendation deemed relevant by the Department of Health to further the purpose of this measure; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the findings and recommendations of the study be considered, and incorporated as feasible, as part of a comprehensive plan to be developed by the Department of Health to combat sepsis in the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2017; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Sepsis; Septicemia; Department of Health; Baseline; Report

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	105
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII