Barnes-Jewish Hospital Team Wins Safety Award for Sepsis
A team of Barnes-Jewish Hospital physicians, nurses and pharmacists received the 2007 American Society
of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Award for Excellence in Medication-Use Safety. The award-winning team at Barnes-Jewish won for its initiative to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of severe sepsis in the emergency department.
Sepsis is an infection that has spread into the bloodstream. It can be life-threatening. Each year, Barnes-Jewish treats about 1,200 patients with severe sepsis.
The team demonstrated that standardizing sepsis care translated into significantly improved patient outcomes. The award includes $50,000 to be used to promote medication-use safety at Barnes-Jewish.