[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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