Champions Of Care Nursing Team Winner - Emergency Room Nursing Staff

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In 2025, Missouri Baptist Sullivan Hospital made significant strides in improving the quality of care delivered to our community. Our team identified an opportunity to enhance the care provided to patients diagnosed with sepsis, a condition that remains the third leading cause of death in the United States, with an average mortality rate of 28.6%. It is well established that with every hour of delayed treatment, the risk of death increases by 4%–9%.

Recognizing our responsibility to deliver timely, high-quality care, we focused on two key areas for improvement within our department. First, we improved our provider notification and response system for sepsis alerts. Prior to the project, provider compliance with responding to potential sepsis activations was 59%. Through focused efforts and team engagement, we increased compliance to 86% by year end — an overall improvement of 27%. At the start of the year, only one of eight providers met compliance expectations; by December, eight of nine providers were compliant.

Second, we addressed the timeliness of antibiotic administration. We implemented a structured “sepsis timeout” process involving the primary nurse, provider and charge nurse. This brief but focused pause allowed the team to align in real time, debrief on the patient’s condition, and establish immediate next steps to ensure appropriate and timely care. As a result of this intervention, antibiotic administration improved significantly. On average, antibiotics were administered 20 minutes faster post-implementation. Additionally, the percentage of patients receiving antibiotics within 30 minutes improved by 13%. Most notably, since implementing these changes in 2025, we achieved a 0% in-hospital mortality rate for sepsis patients, an extraordinary improvement from our pre-project mortality rate of 17%.

This success was driven by strong interdisciplinary collaboration, with full engagement from both providers and nursing staff. The team consistently shared performance data, celebrated progress, and used opportunities for improvement to recalibrate and refine processes. This culture of accountability and continuous improvement was critical to our success. Our efforts have been recognized across BJC HealthCare, where we are now considered a top performer in sepsis care.

This achievement would not have been possible without the full care team behind the scenes. In addition to the nursing team, we recognize the vital contributions of our providers and unit secretaries, whose coordination, communication and collaboration were essential to the success of this initiative.

As a critical access, rural hospital, we are proud to demonstrate that meaningful improvements in patient outcomes are achievable through teamwork, dedication and a commitment to excellence. This initiative exemplifies what it means to be a team of Champions of Care — coming together with purpose, breaking down barriers, and delivering measurable, lifesaving impact for the community we serve.

To view all Champions of Care nominations, visit MHA's website.