[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 141 (Wednesday, September 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S5982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Casey):
S. 5026. A bill to establish programs to reduce rates of sepsis; to
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text
of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 5026
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Securing Enhanced Programs,
Systems, and Initiatives for Sepsis Act'' or the ``SEPSIS
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) 1,700,000 individuals in the United States are infected
by sepsis annually and 350,000 individuals in the United
States are killed by sepsis each year.
(2) Sepsis affects different groups of people unevenly,
with Black Americans twice as likely to die from it than non-
Hispanic white Americans.
(3) Disparities in the incidence and severity of, and
mortality attributable to, sepsis persist across race and
socioeconomic status.
(4) There is a need for increased Federal investment in
research related to sepsis to build on research supported by
the National Institutes of Health, including research with a
pediatric focus supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
(5) The infectious disease workforce, which plays a key
role in reducing the burden of sepsis, needs additional
support to recruit and retain health care professionals
engaged in infection prevention and related patient care.
(6) Sepsis is one of the most expensive conditions to treat
in hospitals in the United States, with high spending
compounded by frequent hospital re-admissions, including 1 in
5 patient re-admissions within 30 days of discharge and 1 in
3 patient re-admissions within 180 days of discharge.
(7) According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 80 percent of sepsis cases begin outside of the
hospital.
(8) Most sepsis fatalities are preventable with early
recognition, diagnosis, and treatment.
(9) The sepsis protocols for hospitals in New York State,
called ``Rory's Regulations'' for Rory Staunton who died from
preventable, treatable sepsis at 12 years of age, have been
proven to save lives through rapid identification and
treatment of sepsis.
(10) Providers and public health experts should study and
learn from Rory's Regulations to find ways to end preventable
deaths from sepsis on a national scale.
SEC. 3. SEPSIS PROGRAMS.
Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317V the
following:
``SEC. 317W. SEPSIS PROGRAMS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(referred to in this section as the `Director'), shall
maintain a sepsis team for purposes of--
``(1) leading an education campaign on best practices for
addressing sepsis in hospitals, such as the practices
outlined in the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements set
forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
``(2) improving data collection on pediatric sepsis;
``(3) sharing information with the Administrator of the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to inform the
development and implementation of sepsis quality measures to
improve outcomes for patients;
``(4) updating data elements with respect to sepsis used by
the United States Core Data for Interoperability, in
coordination with the heads of other relevant agencies and
offices of the Department of Health and Human Services,
including the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology, the Director of the Office of Public Health Data,
Surveillance, and Technology;
``(5) facilitating efforts across the Department of Health
and Human Services to develop outcome measures with respect
to sepsis; and
``(6) carrying out other activities related to sepsis, as
the Director determines appropriate.
``(b) Report on Development of Outcome Measures.--Not later
than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Securing
Enhanced Programs, Systems, and Initiatives for Sepsis Act,
the Director shall submit to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives a report on the development and
implementation of outcome measures for sepsis, for both adult
and pediatric populations, that take into consideration the
social and clinical factors that affect the likelihood a
patient will develop sepsis.
``(c) Annual Briefing on Sepsis Activities.--Not later than
1 year after the date of enactment of the Securing Enhanced
Programs, Systems, and Initiatives for Sepsis Act, and
annually thereafter, the Director shall present to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House
of Representatives a briefing on--
``(1) aggregate data on the adoption by hospitals of sepsis
best practices, including the Hospital Sepsis Program Core
Elements, as reported by hospitals to the Director, using the
hospital sepsis program assessment tool of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and State sepsis reporting
requirements;
``(2) rates of pediatric sepsis and efforts to reduce cases
of pediatric sepsis, including how the Hospital Sepsis
Program Core Elements can be effective at supporting efforts
to reduce cases of pediatric sepsis;
``(3) the coordination of sepsis reduction efforts across
the Department of Health and Human Services;
``(4) in partnership with the Director of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality, an evaluation of the impact
of the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements on quality of
care for patients;
``(5) data sharing from the National Healthcare Safety
Network with other agencies and offices of the Department of
Health and Human Services with respect to sepsis; and
``(6) a report on the latest datasets on sepsis, as
provided to the Director by the Director of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality.
``(d) Honor Roll Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may establish a voluntary
program for recognizing hospitals that maintain effective
sepsis programs or improve their sepsis programs over time,
including in the areas of early detection, effective
treatment, and overall progress in the reduction of the
burden of sepsis.
``(2) Applications; selection.--In carrying out paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall--
``(A) solicit applications from hospitals; and
``(B) establish public benchmarks by which the Secretary
will select hospitals for recognition under such paragraph,
including with respect to each area described in such
paragraph.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this
section, there are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.''.
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