Newswise — HARRISBURG, Pa. (August 16, 2017) – Thomas R. Stoner, DO, FACOI, vice president, Hospitalist Services at PinnacleHealth, and sepsis physician champion for The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), will lead a day-long conference for health professionals, Raising the Bar for Sepsis Care in Pennsylvania. The conference will be September 6 at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel. Specialists from PinnacleHealth and across the state will share evidence-based protocols to improve sepsis care, bundle compliance, and reduce sepsis mortality and readmissions in Pennsylvania hospitals.
Also participating from PinnacleHealth are Anthony J. Guarracino, DO, MHA, chair, Department of Emergency Medicine/medical director, PinnacleHealth Observation Services; and Henry E. Ostman, MD, FCCP, ICU director, PinnacleHealth Hospitals. They will discuss the Subtleties of Sepsis Care in the Emergency Room and the Intensive Care Unit Setting.
Sepsis is a blood infection and an insidious silent killer, claiming 258,000 lives in the U.S. each year, more than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and AIDS combined. Healthcare professionals around the world believe that number to be severely underreported.
“Bundle Directed Therapy protocols in tandem with system-wide educational programs and aggressive treatments have led to more accurate diagnoses, prevention, successful treatments, and a 40 percent reduction in sepsis mortality at PinnacleHealth in the last year. These measures are saving 10 to 12 lives each month," states Dr. Stoner.
All acute care hospitals are welcome to attend. This program will be of particular interest to physicians, sepsis physician champions, patient safety professionals, quality and infection prevention professionals, nursing, sepsis coordinators, and sepsis team members.
For more information and to register, please visit the HAP website.
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About PinnacleHealth System
PinnacleHealth is a nationally recognized leader in providing high-quality, patient-centered healthcare services in central Pennsylvania and surrounding rural communities. Its more than 2,600 physicians and allied health professionals and approximately 9,000 employees serve a 10-county area at outpatient facilities and seven acute care hospitals with 1,267 licensed beds: Carlisle Regional Medical Center, Community General Osteopathic Hospital, Harrisburg Hospital, Heart of Lancaster, Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Memorial Hospital of York, and West Shore Hospital. The not-for-profit system anticipates caring for more than 1.2 million area residents in FY 2018. For more information, visit www.pinnaclehealth.org.
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