By Marycon Young, Vitals contributor

September is Sepsis Awareness Month. Learn more about this serious condition.

The cut on Carrie Detwiler’s leg seemed minor, the kind you rinse and forget. After returning home from a family trip to Hawaii — where she had swum in warm, brackish water — she suddenly felt profoundly ill. Emergency department teams at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento moved quickly with fluids, antibiotics and intensive care.

“I didn’t realize I was in septic shock,” said 76-year-old Detwiler, who lives in Sacramento. “But I felt safe. The team explained every step and acted fast.”

Sepsis can be a complex condition to diagnose, yet it’s more common than many realize: one in three patients who die in a hospital has sepsis during their stay. With prompt recognition and swift treatment, however, sepsis can often be effectively managed.

Sutter Health, a not-for-profit, California-based system is helping prevent serious infections from  sepsis by delivering timelier treatment. Through specialized initiatives, standardized protocols and innovative tools, Sutter is shifting from reactive treatment to proactive prevention — reducing avoidable hospitalizations and saving lives.

Carrie Detwiler

Launched in May 2025, Targeted Condition Outreach, or TCO, uses predictive analytics and team-based outreach to identify patients at higher risk for infections. These conditions include pneumonia, urinary tract infections, cellulitis and influenza — conditions that can escalate to sepsis. Nurses, pharmacists and care coordinators connect with patients, integrate outreach into the patient’s electronic health record and support timely follow-up with their primary care providers.

Inside hospitals, evidence-based, best practice sepsis protocols guide rapid screening, lab work. IV fluids and time-sensitive antibiotics. Wearable Doppler technology such as FloPatch, and NICOM, a non-invasive cardiac output monitoring system, gives clinicians real-time insight into fluid responsiveness, helping stabilize patients faster and avoid complications.

The results are significant: Sutter teams are following national best-practice steps for sepsis care in about 70% of cases — higher than many hospitals. And for patients with the most severe form of sepsis, called septic shock, more than four out of five survive. The Sutter’s system survival rate is more than twice as good as the national average. Nineteen Sutter hospitals have also earned Five-Star recognition from Healthgrades for excellence in sepsis treatment.

While Detwiler made a full recovery, it wasn’t simple. Her wound required surgery and weeks of wound care before healing. Grateful for her outcome, she now volunteers through Sutter’s Patient Liaison program in Sacramento, visiting hospitalized adults with conversation and reassurance.

“Staff were secure, attentive and empathetic during my time at Sutter,” Detwiler said. “That sense of safety stayed with me, and I try to pass it on.”

Another thing Detwiler likes to pass on? A word to the wise.

“When it hits, it hits fast,” she advised. “If something doesn’t look or feel right, don’t wait. Get care.”