Date of Award
Summer 2025
Document Type
DNP Executive Summary
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Department
Nursing
Faculty Chair
Dr. Douglas Stephens
Preceptor
Dr. Tiffany Bass
Mentor
Dr. Patricia Jackson
Abstract
Background: Sepsis is the leading cause of hospital mortality, accounting for over $20 billion dollars in total healthcare costs and more than 5 million deaths annually worldwide. The increased burden of sepsis led the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to institute a quality core measure known as the Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Management Bundle (SEP-1) as a protocol for sepsis treatment. CMS reports national SEP-1 compliance at 62% and 61% for Alabama. The undisclosed project site reports a much lower SEP-1 compliance average of 49% over six months. Compliance with the SEP-1 bundle improves overall patient outcomes and decreases patient mortality.
Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project is to implement a sepsis navigator to improve the facility’s SEP-1 compliance rate to 61% so that national goals are met.
Project Design: A retrospective review of facility SEP-1 compliance was conducted to gather data, which revealed a gap in practice at the facility. Using Lewin’s Model of Change, the sepsis navigator was implemented over a 12-week period in the project facility. At the end of the 12th week, project data was obtained and compared with preliminary data to determine statistical and clinical significance.
Results: During the 12-week project, 46 sepsis alerts were received. Twenty-five patients received SEP-1 bundle implementation, and six did not. SEP-1 bundle implementation averaged 87.5% compliance.
Conclusion: The addition of a sepsis navigator is an effective evidence-based practice intervention for improving SEP-1 compliance to achieve national averages.
Recommended Citation
Parker, Temeka L., "Enhancing Patient Outcomes: The Sepsis Navigator Approach" (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 141.
https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/etds_nursing/141
DNP Project Poster
Parker DNP Slide Presentation.pdf (544 kB)
DNP Project PowerPoint