Porter Regional Hospital Honored by ACEP for Improving Outcomes of Sepsis

Valparaiso, IN – The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has named Porter Regional Hospital’s three emergency departments to the Emergency Quality Network (E-QUAL) Honor Roll for leading the way for how the nation cares for its emergency patients.  The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is the national medical society representing emergency medicine.

Porter Regional Hospital’s three emergency departments, located at Portage Hospital, Porter Regional Hospital and Valparaiso Medical Center participated in a year-long learning collaborative that included virtual quality improvement activities and sharing of performance data.  The organization was one of only 107 Emergency Departments nationally who were specifically recognized for their achievements in improving outcomes for sepsis patients.

“Through collaboration and innovation, the emergency departments that participate in E-QUAL are transforming emergency medicine and advancing how we care for millions of people,”  William Jaquis, MD, FACEP, president of ACEP stated in a press release. “The 2019 E-QUAL Honor Roll awardees are the shining example for how emergency departments can lead the way in practice transformation and quality improvements.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes sepsis as the body’s extreme response to an infection. It is a life-threatening medical emergency that happens when an infection triggers a chain reaction throughout your body. Without timely treatment, sepsis can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.

Sean Dardeau, Chief Executive Officer for Porter Regional Hospital and Northwest Indiana Market CEO shared his appreciation for the emergency departments’ participation and contribution to the collaborative and to improving the outcomes of sepsis patients.  Dardeau shared, “Sepsis is a challenging condition to recognize and treat.  The expertise of our physicians and staff, along with their diligent efforts to identify and treat sepsis appropriately have resulted in this honor.  The fact that all three of our emergency departments have been named to this Honor Roll is something for which the entire team can be proud.”

President of the Porter Regional Hospital Medical Staff and Emergency Medicine physician Dr. Michael Woods added, “It is nice to be recognized nationally for the hard work of the teams at all three of our emergency departments. Sepsis is one of the most lethal medical conditions treated in hospitals so being that we have all three of our emergency departments among the top 107 in the country shows we are providing high quality care to our communities.” 

For more information about sepsis, the public is encouraged to visit www.cdc.gov.