Perris, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/29/2016 --Nile's Project, a public awareness and educational organization dedicated to preventing unnecessary deaths from hospital-acquired infections and sepsis, today urged all health care professionals and every individual to participate in the National Sepsis Awareness Month, sponsored in September by the U.S. government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Learn how states are tackling sepsis by joining the Vital Signs Town Hall Teleconference on Tuesday, Aug 30 at 2 p.m. EDT. The conference line (U.S. only) is 800-857-0764, Passcode: 795-4413.

"National Sepsis Awareness Month is more timely than ever this year since it occurs just days after the CDC issued a report on Aug. 23 declaring sepsis a medical emergency, and a deadly disease that more medical practitioners must take prompt action to prevent and recognize at the earliest stages," said Ty Moss, Chief Executive Officer for Nile's Project.

"When sepsis occurs, it should be treated as a medical emergency," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "Doctors and nurses can prevent sepsis and also the devastating effects of sepsis, and patients and families can watch for sepsis and ask, 'could this be sepsis?' Sepsis is the body's overwhelming response to infection. It can happen to anyone at any time. When doctors and nurses identify sepsis early, patients have a much better chance of survival."

The CDC says, "Saving patients from sepsis is a race against time," calls sepsis "a medical emergency" and "encourages prompt action for prevention and early recognition."

Nile's Project and other patient advocacy groups have been collaborating with the CDC on National Sepsis Awareness Month activities.

Nile's Project is also working with the CDC and the U.S. Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and most recently with the national Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organizations (QIN-QIO) network, to encourage better health, better care and lower costs under the overall umbrella of improving the quality of patient safety.

The CDC study issued on Aug. 23 (available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/sepsis) shows that 7 in 10 patients with sepsis had recently interacted with healthcare providers or had chronic diseases requiring frequent medical care. Sepsis is a complication caused by the body's overwhelming and life-threatening responses to infection. The CDC called healthcare providers "the critical link to preventing, recognizing and treating sepsis."

The CDC's Sepsis Morbidity and Mortality Report abstract is available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6533e1.htm?s_cid=mm6533e1_w

Niles's Project was formed nine years ago when Ty and Carole Moss unexpectedly lost their 15-year-old son, Nile, to MRSA, also known as a hospital-acquired "superbug." Drug-resistant bacteria such as MRSA kill an estimated 100,000 individuals of all ages annually in the U.S. alone. Nile became one of the 254,000 people who die of sepsis every year when healthcare professionals miss or ignore the clear signs and symptoms of sepsis. Nile's Project has represented consumers of healthcare through the Consumers Union/Consumer Reports national team of patient advocates. Carole Moss tells the families story on this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDYRN0t0TTc

Moss said there are a variety of ways the health care professionals and individuals can educate themselves during Sepsis Awareness Month. He said that educational materials, include posters, are available from the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov and from the Nile's Project website: http://www.nilesproject.com

These materials include the Sepsis Vital Signs overview and the full CDC Sepsis Report.

Moss said it is important part during Sepsis Awareness Month for health care professionals, patients and caregivers to share their sepsis stories. He urged people to do that on Twitter using the hash tags #thinksepsis and #sepsisstory

About Nile's Project
Nile's Project has been responsible for the adoption of Nile's Law in California, which mandates that hospitals publicly report incidences of hospital-acquired infections. Nile's Project has also produced free music concerts where detailed patient safety information was provided to hundreds of families, and participated in numerous health fairs where thousands of individuals were made aware of practical ways to prevent deadly infections.

Website: http://www.nilesproject.com