Melissa Waldner, RN, BSN, clinical nurse educator at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen, South Dakota, highlighted their efforts to improve compliance of the sepsis bundle implementation during a recent Webinar, Sepsis in the Dakotas: Prevention, Identification, Treatment, hosted by Great Plains QIN.
In September 2023, the Avera team identified room for improvement with the sepsis bundle implementation. Their current rate (50%) aligned with the national rate, but the Avera team wanted to do better. Goals were set: to improve health outcomes for patients diagnosed with sepsis; control costs related to sepsis treatment; prepare for the adoption of sepsis protocols into the hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP program) and to improve sepsis bundle compliance.
The team focused on improving internal sepsis education; recognizing that traditional education models were not enough. They asked, ‘How can we make learning about sepsis enjoyable, memorable and most importantly, impactful’?
This is how the idea of an escape room surfaced. Gaming is an emerging teaching methodology proven to increase content retention, encourage critical thinking, strategic planning, teamwork and to improving performance under pressure Waldner provided an overview of this unique inter-professional collaborative approach for attendees.
Sepsis Escape Room Objectives:
- Staff will identify infection screen symptoms
- Staff will identify SIRS, sepsis, severe sepsis & septic shock criteria
- Staff will follow the appropriate pathway on the sepsis quality indicator tool
- Staff will provide the patient the proper treatment protocol
The Sepsis Escape Room challenged Avera teams to work through a simulated sepsis case study. By following clues and treating the case study patient appropriately, each team worked together to “break out” of the room. The team with the fastest completion time was recognized in a daily lineup and received a special reward.
This interactive activity not only made learning more engaging, but also helped staff develop essential skills for identifying and treating sepsis. Waldner credits members of the team for embracing the concept and also believes the friendly competition was a driver of success. Waldner extended appreciation to her colleague, Suzanne Vogel, for helping drive this effort and to Michelle Hofer and her team at the South Dakota Association for Nursing Professional Development for the escape room resources and materials.
Sepsis Escape Room Materials
- Sepsis Escape Room
- Sepsis Escape Room Proctor Prompts
- Sepsis Escape Resource
- Sepsis Escape Instructions & Briefing
- Sepsis Escape Room Key
In addition to internal education, the team focused on blood cultures, hand-off communication, workflow issues and lack of utilization of order sets by providers. These were the biggest challenges identified through a root cause analysis (RCA). A multi-faceted approach to improvement was employed, which included physician education, adaption of the Kurin® blood culture collection set tool to minimize contamination rates, implementation of a sepsis quality indicator tool, onboarding with new staff, hosting a sepsis station at skills fair and Sepsis Awareness Month education and activities.
Waldner added that after 9 months of a focused effort to improve sepsis care offered at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital, they experienced a vast improvement; nearly 84% compliance rate of the sepsis bundle; compared to 50 percent a few months earlier.
If you are interested in learning more, access the Sepsis in the Dakotas: Prevention, Identification, Treatment recording. If you want additional information or have questions, contact Melissa Waldner.
Melissa Waldner, RN, BSN
Inpatient Nurse Educator
Avera St. Luke’s Hospital | Main Campus
melissa.waldner@avera.org
It is September and that means we all come together – healthcare providers, communities, family members, organizations (big and small) to raise sepsis awareness to help save lives for Sepsis Awareness Month. It is important to understand how to identify and treat sepsis early. Experts say that 80 percent of sepsis deaths could be prevented if treated in time.
Additional Sepsis Resources:
- CDC Managing Recovery from Sepsis
- Sepsis STOP and TELL Tool
- Sepsis Toolkit For Skilled Nursing And Long-Term Care
Listen To Our Podcast: Q-Tips For Your Ears!
TIME is Sepsis, Have You Heard: Sepsis is a medical emergency as important to understand as stroke and heart attack. Learn the symptoms and what you should say to your healthcare provider when you suspect sepsis.