A shocking 350k Americans per year die by sepsis while 1.7 million suffer from it. End Sepsis: The Rory Staunton Legacy continues to work to educate and save lives on the first National Sepsis Day.
In 2022 Senate Leader Chuck Schumer proclaimed that September 13th would annually mark National Sepsis Day in tribute to Rory Staunton, an Irish boy from Queens, New York, who died aged 12 from the condition.
The move to make Sept 13 National Sepsis Day comes after the Irish immigrant family of Rory Staunton succeeded in creating a whole new awareness of the disease. Along the way, they created “Rory’s Regulations” which have saved at least 20k lives. Ciaran Staunton and Orlaith O’Dowd, natives of Mayo and Louth, have dedicated their lives to finding a way to defeat sepsis and their foundation End Sepsis: The Rory Staunton Foundation is now looking to the future and their next steps.
In a statement, they wrote: "Shockingly, despite the staggering toll of 350,000 Americans succumbing to sepsis annually, most hospitals in the US lack robust sepsis programs. With your invaluable support, we can put an end to this grim reality.
"The evidence speaks for itself: sepsis protocols are effective, as demonstrated by the 20,000 lives saved in New York State within just four years. In the year ahead, we are planning strategic campaigns."
They added "You may be reading this and believe that such a situation could never happen to you. We thought that too.
On April 1, 2012, their family's lives changed forever. Their 5ft 9in, 169-lb 12-year-old boy passed away having cut his leg while diving for a ball during gym class. Four days later, despite presenting to hospital twice Rory passed away from sepsis. Bacteria had entered his blood through the cut on his arm and he had gone into septic shock.
"Someday, someone you know, or love may encounter sepsis while in a hospital's care. In that moment, it is imperative that the hospital has a robust sepsis program in place, and that the medical staff can swiftly identify and treat sepsis as the critical medical emergency that it is."
End Sepsis: The Rory Staunton Legacy has already achieved a great deal in getting this fight included as a line-item budget allocation in Congress and having Sept 13 declared National Sepsis Day.
However, their work is far from over. With the support of the Mother Cabrini Foundation, they are currently spearheading a significant digital maternal sepsis campaign in New York State, with the aim of safeguarding the health of mothers and newborns.
The foundation is committed to increasing awareness and education on sepsis has grown stronger, reaching more communities across the nation. Their advocacy efforts have been successful in persuading the CDC to introduce Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements for all hospitals in the United States.
Staunton and O'Dowd added "The introduction of the Core Elements for Sepsis Care represents a monumental leap forward for healthcare in our country. When Rory died, we knew the unforgivable mistakes that were made in his care should not be allowed to happen again."
For more information on how to take action and to donate visit www.endsepsis.org.
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