UKIAH, Calif. – On Monday, March 11, Ukiah Valley Medical Center nursing and medical staff began an intensive training course on diagnosing and treating sepsis, the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States.

“Sepsis is a deadly infection in which bacteria overwhelms the body's natural immune system,” said Registered Nurse Kristen Marin, a nurse educator at UVMC.

“Sepsis can begin as a normal infection in people of all ages, but is particularly dangerous in newborn infants and the elderly,” Marin explained. “When the infection enters the body's bloodstream, it can result in a deadly outcome.”

Sepsis is a serious issue facing all health care professionals; approximately 750,000 people develop sepsis and more than 200,000 people die each year from sepsis in the United States.

The MSC SimSuite Sepsis Mobile Simulation Lab uses lifelike simulated mannequins. UVMC nurses and physicians will interact with the mannequins as they would with real patients to diagnose and treat sepsis based on the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines.

“I am excited that we are implementing this program to help our nurses and physicians develop confidence in applying best practices in sepsis identification and treatment, as well as improving communication skills with patients and staff, to help meet the goal of reducing sepsis-associated mortality,” said Laura L. Wedderburn, M.D., director of the hospitalist program and internal medicine physician at UVMC.

The MSC Sepsis Simulation-based training has been proven to help health care professionals take more appropriate and immediate action in administering evidence-based care to patients, and improve providers’ confidence levels in managing patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.

“Though we don’t have a high rate of sepsis, this will help give our community even more confidence in the personal high-quality care you should expect from your community hospital,” said Vice President of Patient Care Heather Van Housen.

“This training has been made available by the generous gift Marie McGarrity made to UVMC to further the education of our staff and benefit the welfare of our community,” said Director of Philanthropy Allyne Brown.

If you are interested in learning about the numerous opportunities for gift giving, please contact UVMC’s philanthropy department at 707-463-5224.