Lessons Learned: A Roundtable Discussion on Sepsis Coordination and Care

Michelle Evans, MSN, RN, APRN, NP-C, obtained her ADN in 1999 and BSN in 2007, both from Walsh University. She earned her Masters as an Advanced Practice Nurse in 2010 from Malone University and is board-certified through the ANCC as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Her clinical background is in Critical Care/Rapid Response and Hospitalist Medicine. Michelle discovered her passion for sepsis care while serving as the Intensivist Program Coordinator for Aultman Hospital from 2002-2009. She has been the Sepsis Program Coordinator for Summa Health System in Akron since January 2021. Michelle resides in Canton, Ohio, with her husband Dave, and has three adult sons. 

Devang Sanghavi, MD, MHA, FCCP, is Vice Chairman, Clinical Practice and Critical Care and an Associate Professor at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. His educational experience includes board certification in internal medicine from Presence Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago and Chief Residency in Internal Medicine at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital. He graduated from the Critical Care fellowship training program at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, followed by board certification in Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Sanghavi completed his graduate training at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, having completed a two-year master's program in Health Administration.

As a Chief Resident in Chicago, Dr. Sanghavi led a group of eighty-four residents and medical students, which tested his administrative, leadership, and teaching skills. Caring for a critically ill patient with multisystem involvement demands an alert physician, one who is a team player, quick, decisive, and ready to respond to the ever-changing needs of this patient. It is these very demanding conditions and the daily change of medical conditions that one may treat that drew Dr. Sanghavi to critical care.

Alexis Wells, RN, MSN, LSSYB, CCDS, has been a registered nurse since 2008. She has worked in various areas, including CVICU, neuro ICU, med/surg ICU, telemetry, bone marrow transplant unit, and home hospice, which provided her with a well-rounded foundation when she became a clinical documentation specialist (CDS) in 2015. Within six months, Ms. Wells was promoted to the clinical coordinator role, in which she facilitated healthcare professional education and cultivated relationships with essential ancillary departments such as dietary, wound care, and IT. In 2018, Ms. Wells was hired at John Peter Smith (JPS) hospital as the CDI Quality Assurance Auditor, where she continued working towards the same goals of breaking down barriers and improving workflow and engagement of everyone involved with clinical documentation. In December 2021, Ms. Wells transitioned to a new role at John Peter Smith, becoming the Quality Educator for the entire organization.

Ms. Wells has taken care of multiple patients with sepsis and understands that early identification and intervention are key to survival. This led her to act when the question was posed: how do you bridge patient care and reimbursement when it comes to the septic population?

Jessica Aguilar, BSN, RN is a clinical sepsis nurse at JPS Health Network in Ft. Worth, Texas. As a clinical sepsis nurse, she is responsible for educating patients and staff on sepsis. She is currently completing her Masters in Nursing Administration at Texas Tech University. She began her career as a pharmacy tech, then obtained her EMT and EMT-Paramedic prior to completing her BSN. She previously worked as a bedside nurse at Cook Children’s Medical Center from 2015-2017 and was involved in hardwiring sepsis rollout to all floors. From 2017-2019 Jessica was an emergency department nurse at JPS Health Network and served as the Chair of the Stroke Committee. Additionally, she was a member of the sepsis, AMI, triage, and MCI committees. Outside of work, Jessica enjoys spending time with her daughter, crafting, working out, and gardening.