Dear Colleagues,

As you may be aware, September is Sepsis Awareness Month.

For many years, the Federation of Nurses/UFT has partnered with Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton, whose son Rory died from sepsis at age 12, to help spread critical information about this preventable and treatable infection through their foundation, the Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention.

I encourage each of you to visit the foundation's website and familiarize yourselves with the important work that they do.

The Stauntons appeared at our Professional Issues Conference last fall and shared the tragic story of the loss of their son — a tragedy that could have been prevented if the appropriate practices and protocols had been in place in the facility where Rory was treated.

We continue to work with the Stauntons to promote detailed legislation in New York City and New York State that will mandate best practices in our schools, hospitals and home care settings for the prevention and immediate treatment of sepsis. But we need your help, which is why I hope you will plan to join me and your fellow colleagues at our annual Federation of Nurses/UFT Lobby Day in Albany on March 9. More information will be forthcoming.

Our state affiliate, the New York State United Teachers, has created a sepsis toolkit that I hope will be of use to you. Our national union, the American Federation of Teachers, which actively promotes clear and strong standards on sepsis at the national level, has created a useful, one-page information sheet on sepsis that you may find helpful.

As health care professionals, we must always strive to provide the highest quality of care and to see that the most stringent protocols are in place in order to ensure patient safety. I am proud that our union has taken such a strong stand on the need for clearer protocols in the way we handle sepsis in New York City and across the state. I hope that you will continue to fight alongside me to win the changes we so badly need.

In solidarity,

Anne Goldman, RN
UFT Vice President for Non-DOE Members
Federation of Nurses/UFT Chair