HALT Sepsis – Think Sepsis First!

Abstract

The Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) nursing team in a cardiac medical unit, newly designated as a sepsis telemetry unit, at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, implemented evidence-based strategies to improve early recognition and communication of sepsis to the interprofessional team.In this nurse-driven project, the team developed a sepsis-specific SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) tool, a logo, and a HALT (History, Assessment, Laboratory values, and Trends) Sepsis tool in collaboration with the hospitalist group. Educational bundles for staff were created. A preintervention survey was used to assess nurses’ early sepsis recognition, followed by one-on-one education sessions. A postintervention survey was conducted to evaluate the project’s impact.The CSI team continued to audit length-of-stay and ICU transfer data. Additional sepsis simulations were incorporated into ongoing staff education, which included a sepsis educational binder, annual simulations, provider lectures, and continued engagement from the unit-based council champions.The CSI team improved the outcomes of patients with sepsis by increasing nurses’ confidence in early sepsis recognition through targeted education and the development of practical clinical tools.