Bill to bolster sepsis care clears committee

A state Senate panel on Monday cleared a bill to require hospitals to establish protocols to identify sepsis quickly. 

The Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee approved the bill, which would require processes to screen for, recognize, and treat sepsis. The bill, sponsored by state Sens. Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City) and Joseph Vitale (D-Woodbridge), would also require hospitals to train their staff on the protocol periodically.

“Sepsis is a child-killer and is disproportionately fatal for the elderly and vulnerable,” Mukherji said. “By mandating evidence-based protocols for early detection and rapid treatment, we can join the list of states that adopted state-oriented sepsis responses and saw mortality rates drop by as much as 30%.”

Sepsis was the eighth-leading cause of death in 2023, according to state data. About 1,950 people died of the disease in New Jersey that year.  

Under the bill, the state Health Department would compile a hospital report card for sepsis-related care, and hospitals would collect data on sepsis for internal improvement.

“Due to the devastating impact of sepsis, it’s absolutely essential that our hospitals are consistently up-to-date on these important developments,” Vitale said. “Bill S-2884 ensures that there is clear oversight of and consistent updates to sepsis protocols across New Jersey so that hospitals and their staff are as prepared as possible to fight this dangerous condition.”